Living As A Legend
by phoenixfire1995
Summary: Nero Hishiro began his journey as an ordinary Trainer, but upon coming in contact with the White Stone his whole life has taken a turn toward the strange. Haunted by strange dreams, hearing a booming voice in his head, and struggling to remain sane are just the added issues to Nero's life as he continues on his journey with his friends. Part 2 of 4.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter I**

I was standing on the top floor of a ruined tower. There was a wind blowing my hair back, but I couldn't see anything beyond the tower.

"Where am I?" I asked, not really hoping someone would answer.

The area opened up and I saw a grassy plain in front of me. Immediately I saw Hilda standing there, wearing a white dress. She looked absolutely gorgeous. My mother and Nixa then appeared next to her. They were holding hands. Cheren, Bianca, and Spectra were also there with them. All of them were holding hands and looking toward the ground.

"Guys!" I shouted, holding my hands out toward them.

Suddenly they all caught on fire from their feet.

"NO!" I shouted.

I tried running to them, but it was like I was being held in place by some invisible force, watching my friends and loved ones burn alive. The flames covered their forms perfectly and they all disintegrated to ash. The plain of grass kept the fire growing and it surged toward me as a massive wave.

"NO!" I shouted, trying to cover my face as the fire engulfed me.

I woke up suddenly, throwing myself out of bed. I had a cold sweat and was breathing hard. Hilda turned the bedside lamp on, illuminating our motel room, and looked at me frantically.

"Was it another nightmare?" she asked me.

"Yeah…," I said and then a sharp pain hit me in the back of my head, causing me to fall to my knees in pain.

I felt a pair of hands on my back and immediately realized it was Hilda.

"Are you okay?" she asked me.

"Do I look alright too you?" I asked her rhetorically through gritted teeth.

I pushed up off the ground and moved past her.

"Nero, you need to talk about this. It's been two weeks and you've had a nightmare every night. Tell me what the hell is going on!" Hilda snapped.

I turned on her, my newly acquired blue eyes flaring up.

"You want to know what's going on with me?" I asked her.

"Please," Hilda pleaded, her voice growing soft, trying to calm me down, but to no avail.

"LET ME EXPLAIN THIS SHIT TO YOU! EVERY GOD DAMN TIME I CLOSE MY EYES; EVEN TO _FUCKING_ BLINK I SEE FIRE! NOTHING BUT FIRE! ALL I FEEL IS FIRE, ALL I SEE IS FIRE, AND I'M SICK OF IT! I DREAM OF EVERYONE I GIVE A DAMN ABOUT BEING BURNED ALIVE, SO EXCUSE ME IF I'M A LITTLE ON EDGE!" I shouted, my eyes watering up.

Hilda cringed when I yelled at her, but nodded.

I then stormed out onto the balcony behind our motel room. It overlooked Nacrene City.

"_Nero Hishiro_," a deep voice said into my conscience.

"Leave me alone," I grumbled.

"_Let me explain_," the voice said.

"No. I don't buy that you're some Pokémon plaguing my mind. I'm just going crazy," I responded.

"_You'll go crazy if you keep denying my existence_," the voice said.

"Another time. I'm too tired for this shit," I muttered, ignoring the voice from then on.

Hilda cautiously came out onto the balcony with me.

"Nero…," she said meekly.

I didn't respond. Hilda inched closer. She was scared. I couldn't blame her for being scared. I turned to face her and she froze.

"Um…," she responded, afraid to say anything.

"Hilda, I'm sorry for snapping. These nightmares have been driving me crazy," I said.

Hilda then embraced me in a hug, burying her face into my chest.

"Nero, I just want you to know you aren't alone; you don't have to go through this alone, I want to and I will help you as much as I can, but I can't if you won't let me," Hilda said.

I nodded and she looked up at me.

"Alright… I've been hearing this voice ever since the White Stone absorbed itself into me," I said.

"Wait, remember what Lenora said?" Hilda asked me.

*Flashback*

_I was lying in my hospital bed. My mother had been called and was due to drive into Nacrene City by tomorrow. Hilda had fallen asleep in the chair next to me, resting her head on the wall. Spectra had left to go take my Pokémon to get healed. _

_ Lenora then walked in, causing me to sit up. _

"_Don't strain yourself now," she said. _

"_Nero… who is it?" Hilda asked me. _

"_I'm Lenora, the owner of the Nacrene City Museum and the Nacrene City Gym Leader," Lenora said. _

_ I looked at her in surprise. I didn't know she was the Gym Leader. _

"_Why are you here?" I asked her. _

"_I wanted to explain to you what happened. I understand the White Stone absorbed into your body, correct?" Lenora responded. _

"_Yeah. Then I fainted and woke up to having white streaks in my hair and blue eyes," I said. _

"_Anything else? Did you hear something when you passed out?" Lenora asked me. _

"_Yeah… I heard a voice while I was unconscious… it wasn't anyone I knew," I said. _

"_What did the voice say?" Lenora asked me._

"' _You are a hero who seeks the Truth; therefore, I have deemed you worthy'," I said. _

"_So the legend is true," Lenora said. _

"_What legend?" Hilda asked. _

"_The legend of Reshiram and the Hero of Truth," Lenora said. _

"_Please, tell me the legend," I said. _

"_I know you're aware of the origin story of Reshiram thanks to your girlfriend back in the museum," Lenora said. _

"_She's not my girlfriend," I responded as quickly as possible. _

"_Oh? I thought you two were on a date?" Lenora asked me. _

"_Long story, she's my girlfriend, though. Spectra's only a friend, and a crazy ass one at that," I said. _

"_Either way, it is said that Reshiram and Zekrom would return, but only if they found a Hero of Truth, or a Hero of Ideals. I believe Reshiram chose you as a Hero of Truth and absorbed the White Stone into your body," Lenora explained. _

"_That's insane…," I responded. _

"_Most of these legends are, but that doesn't mean they can't be true," Lenora said. _

*End Flashback*

"Do you really believe that legend?" I asked her.

"Got any other ideas what this whole thing can be?" she asked me.

I mulled it over a bit.

"You should go back to sleep, I'll be back inside in a bit… I just need some time alone to think," I said.

"Okay," Hilda responded, nodding at me.

She gave me a quick kiss on the lips and walked back inside our motel room. I closed the door behind her and watched her shut off the light.

"Alright. Tell me everything," I told the voice that's been plaguing my mind.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter II**

The next morning, I was dressed and standing next to my motorcycle. Hilda walked over to me and looked like she slept as crappy as I did.

"So what's the plan for today?" she asked me.

"Well, I'm not going to let some Pokémon spirit inside my head deter me from my Journey. So, today, I'm going to train and you're going to help me," I said.

Hilda nodded. I sent out Cubone and she sent out Chikorita.

"Cubone, I want to work on your skills with your bone as well as without," I said.

"_O… okay_," he responded.

I knew he held onto his bone with everything he had and he cherished it, but when he lost it, he became an empty shell and I couldn't have that.

"Cubone, use Bone Club!" I called out.

"Use Vine Whip to trip him up, Chikorita!" Hilda countered.

Cubone ran forward, holding his bone like a battle ax, but Chikorita wrapped her vines around his legs mid-run and tripped the Ground-type. He got back to his feet.

"Razor Leaf!" Hilda called out.

"Twirl your bone around to block!" I called out.

Chikorita flicked her leaf, sending a couple of leaves at Cubone, but he blocked them by spinning his bone in front of him.

"Good job, Cubone," I said.

I looked at Hilda and nodded. It was time for part two of training.

"Chikorita, use Vine Whip to get Cubone's bone away from him!" Hilda called out.

Chikorita wrapped her vines around Cubone's bone and ripped it out of his hands, tossing it aside. Cubone looked at his bone as it bounced across the ground and then back at Chikorita.

"_My… my bone…_," Cubone muttered.

"Cubone, you don't need it," I said.

"_But…_," the Ground-type responded.

He then looked at Chikorita and glared.

"_You… took… my… BONE_!" Cubone shouted as a red aura covered him.

He charged forward and began repeatedly head butting Chikorita until she was knocked out.

Cubone stood next to her, breathing hard, and then walked over to retrieve his bone.

"That was Rage," I muttered.

Cubone just huffed and puffed. I made a mental note to never take his bone away.

"Chikorita!" Hilda called out, running over to her Pokémon.

I ran over and Cubone followed suit as soon as his rage subsided.

"_I am so sorry Chikorita_," Cubone apologized.

"_It's okay. You did great, Cubone_," Chikorita admitted, getting to her feet.

"_Thank you_…," Cubone responded shyly, blushing.

Hilda and I smiled at our Pokémon, glad they're both okay.

"How about some lunch?" Hilda asked.

"Nah," I responded, but my growling stomach betrayed me.

"Come on champ, I think it's time for a break," Hilda said.

"_She's correct_," Reshiram spoke to me in my head.

"Oh don't you start agreeing with her," I responded to the voice.

Hilda, Cubone, and Chikorita looked at me funny.

"It was Reshiram…," I said, rubbing the back of my neck.

"Ooh, what's he saying?" Hilda asked.

"You're right and I'm wrong," I muttered.

"I like him already," Hilda said full of pride as she began making a few sandwiches while I prepared the Pokémon food.

I brought out my three other Pokémon and Hilda brought out her two other Pokémon. Charmeleon flexed his muscles and breathed out a Flamethrower into the air. Honchkrow stretched his wings out and then brought out a mirror to start admiring himself in the reflection. Zorua just rolled her eyes at Honchkrow.

"_You've got to be the most vainest Pokémon out there_," she muttered.

"_You're just jealous that I look so damn good_," Honchkrow responded.

"_Please don't fight_," Cubone pleaded.

Zorua sighed and began ignoring Honchkrow for Cubone's sake. She had grown fond of the young Pokémon, almost becoming his surrogate mother.

I smiled as Zorua began playing with Cubone.

Hilda then walked over to me with our sandwiches in her hands. I took one and ate it as she sat down on the ground next to me. I could see her watching me through the peripheral of my blue eye.

"Yes?" I asked her, taking another sandwich.

"Nothing," she responded.

I chuckled and took a bite from my second sandwich. Suddenly the temperature around us lowered drastically.

"What's going on, Nero?" Hilda asked me.

"I don't know," I responded, getting to my feet.

"_I'm scared_," Cubone said, grabbing onto my leg.

I looked around, but didn't see anything. Suddenly, my blue eye began glowing and I saw a Pokémon floating around us.

"What are you doing?" I asked the Pokémon, causing it to turn toward me.

Suddenly it became visible and got in my face.

"_How can you see me_?" the Pokémon asked me excitedly.

"I don't even know," I responded, pulling out my Pokédex.

"Haunter, the Gas Pokémon. It likes to lurk in the dark and tap shoulders with a gaseous hand. Its touch causes endless shuddering," the Pokédex said.

Haunter is a purple Pokémon with a gaseous body. It has a round head with a pair of disembodied hands. Each hand has three pointed fingers. Its head is flanked by three large, spiked protrusions on either side, and its eyes are large and triangular with small pupils. The gasses composing its head curve down to form several sharp teeth framing a pink mouth and a long tongue. Its body tapers into a jagged tail.

"What were you doing?" I asked Haunter.

"_Oh, I was just going to distract you guys while I whisk away one of those delicious-looking sandwiches_," Haunter said.

"_Why not ask instead of scaring us_?" Cubone asked

"_Us_?" Honchkrow questioned, but was hushed by Zorua.

"_Oh, I'm sorry about that little guy, I didn't mean to scare you. I was just trying to have some fun_," Haunter said.

"_And take away our food_," Zorua pointed out, stepping forward.

"_Ooh, I smell a girl fight_," Honchkrow whispered to Charmeleon.

"Haunter all you needed to do was ask and I would've gladly have given you a sandwich," I said.

"_But she wasn't going to ask, she was just going to steal from us like Spectra_," Zorua said.

"HEY, I HEARD THAT!" Spectra called out from nearby.

Haunter just laughed.

"_But where's the fun in asking_?" Haunter asked.

"_There is no fun, there's just selflessness_," Zorua responded spitefully.

"Zorua, calm down," I said.

"_Yeah Zorua, calm down. Learn to relax_," Haunter said.

Zorua growled.

"Alright, how about a battle?" I asked the two Pokémon.

"_Deal_!" Zorua snapped hastily.

"_Sounds like fun_!" Haunter exclaimed.

I stood behind Zorua and Haunter floated across from us.

"Zorua, use Pursuit!" I called out.

Zorua began glowing purple and she charged forward. Haunter smiled and her disembodied hands glowed purple and she jabbed them into Zorua. Zorua fell back and slid across the ground.

"_Poison Jab, it's a move that has one hell of a kick_," Haunter said, giggling.

"_I'll give you a kick_," Zorua growled, getting back to her feet.

"Faint Attack!" I called out.

Zorua charged forward and Haunter readied another Poison Jab, but Zorua disappeared at the last second.

"_Whoa, where'd you go_?" Haunter asked before Zorua reappeared behind her and collided with the Ghost/Poison-type from behind.

Haunter spun end-over-end in midair.

"_Weeeee_!" she cheered as she did so.

"Zorua, use Pursuit once more!" I called out.

Zorua charged into Haunter and knocked her to the ground.

"_This is so much fun_!" Haunter called out as she fired two shadowy punches toward Zorua.

"Dodge it!" I called out.

Zorua tried jumping over the shadowy fists, but they turned direction, and hit her anyways.

"_Can't dodge that one_!" Haunter pointed out.

"_SHUT UP_!" Zorua shouted as purple flames swarmed over her.

She charged forward and collided with Haunter, knocking her back into the ground.

"Whoa, what move was that?" I asked.

"_Night Daze, Zorua's signature move_," Reshiram explained to me.

"Thanks…," I responded awkwardly.

"_No problem, now catch Haunter. She will be a good addition to our team_," Reshiram said.

"Our team?" I questioned.

I got no response, so I pulled out a Pokéball and tossed it. It absorbed Haunter inside and shook a bit before sparking, signaling that I caught her.

"Well, I just caught a Haunter," I said.

"_Great…_," Zorua muttered.

Hilda just stood off in the distance with a confused expression on her face.

"I hate it when he starts conversing with his Pokémon. I have no idea what the hell they're talking about," she muttered.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter III**

I lay in bed wide awake with Hilda curled up next to me. Moonlight poured into our room and lit up her sleeping face. I gently caressed her face as she slept and planted a kiss on her forehead.

"Everything okay?" she asked me tiredly.

"Yes. I'm sorry for waking you," I apologized.

Hilda just made a groaning noise as she switched her position so she could use my chest as a pillow. She grabbed one of my hands and intertwined our fingers.

"I love you," I said, pulling her closer to my face.

"I love me too," Hilda responded jokingly.

I rolled my eyes and then pushed her off me. I lay on top of her and began kissing her neck.

"Nero, we need to sleep… keep doing that," Hilda said, moaning as I rubbed my hand down the back of her thigh.

I smiled and nibbled on her earlobe. Hilda put her hands on my shoulders and pushed me over onto my back. She straddled my waist and hovered over me with a smile tugging at her lips.

"Alright, let's take this shirt off," Hilda said, taking my shirt off.

She then began kissing me passionately. I rubbed my hand up her thigh and grabbed at her rear. I used my other hand to slide her top up, causing her to stop kissing me briefly and take her top off the entire way. She wasn't wearing a bra and her nipples were erect due to the cold night.

I rolled her onto her back and began caressing one of her breasts with one hand and sucking on her nipple of the other while rubbing my hand beneath the front of her pajama shorts.

Hilda moaned in pleasure as I kept doing this, switching between which breast to massage and which one to suckle.

I then paused to unbutton her shorts and slide them down to her ankles. I did the same thing to her panties and began rubbing my fingers across her entrance, causing her to moan even more. I stopped doing this so I could take my pants off and then climbed back on top of her. I thrust inside of her and kissed her neck. Hilda held onto my shoulders and thrust her hips rhythmically against my thrusts until we both climaxed.

The next morning, I was already awake, showered, and dressed. Today was the day that I battled the Nacrene City Gym Leader, Lenora.

I grabbed the five Pokéballs clipped around my belt and released all of my Pokémon.

"Alright; aside from Haunter and Cubone, you guys know how long we've been at this. I cannot believe how long it has taken us to get to the second Gym, but it is as it is, and we will just have to keep fighting strong. Now, Lenora told me prior that our battle is going to be a three-on-three, so I'm going to only call upon three of you," I said.

I thought it over and then decided on at least two of my three picks.

"Charmeleon and Haunter are two of my picks," I said.

"_I will not fail you Nero_," Charmeleon assured me.

"_I'll do my best_!" Haunter responded excitedly.

Zorua rolled her eyes and simply sat down on the ground. Honchkrow didn't seem to care and was preoccupied with admiring his own reflection. This caused Zorua to get even more annoyed.

"_Are you okay, Zorua_?" Cubone whispered to her.

"_Yeah… it's just everyone here annoys me… except you_," she said.

"Cubone, want to be my third pick?" I asked the Ground-type.

"_Of course_!" Cubone exclaimed, disregarding what Zorua had just said.

"_Really_?" Zorua questioned in annoyance.

"What's wrong, Zorua?" I asked her.

"_Nothing_," she muttered.

She turned her head away from me and didn't say anything else.

"Alright, let's get ready for our Gym battle," I said.

An hour later, Hilda and I walked into the Nacrene City Gym, and we were immediately taken aback by the interior. It was an entire library.

"What the…?" I was about to question before an elderly woman hushed me.

Hilda and I looked around for any sign of Lenora, but instead found her husband.

"Hey Hawes, what's going on?" I whispered to the man.

"Oh, Nero, it's a requirement for all of Lenora's challengers to read something in her library before battling her," Hawes explained before heading deeper into the library.

"Great… I hate reading," I muttered.

"Well you're going to have to deal with it if you want to battle Lenora," Hilda said, walking off to find something to read.

I groaned to myself and walked around the library, hoping to find something that would spark my interest. After about ten minutes of loitering around I finally found a book that caught my attention.

"Finally," I groaned before being hushed by the same elderly woman.

I muttered some curses under my breath and grabbed the book. I found a table where Hilda was sitting at and sat down across from her. She had a book on cooking while I had a book about Legendary Pokémon.

"_Good choice_," Reshiram said to me.

I ignored him and opened the book. I read through a lot of the legends, but paused at a specific one.

"The Swords of Justice?" I questioned.

A long time ago, there was a war being waged between two rival kingdoms. The wild Pokémon living between the two kingdoms were caught in the crossfire and many lost their lives. Then three Legendary Pokémon, Cobalion, Terrakion, and Virizion began rescuing as many Pokémon as they could, using their signature move, Sacred Sword, to protect them. Alas, they came too late for one Pokémon. Keldeo. Saddened by the death that they felt they could have prevented, the Swords of Justice, combined their Sacred Sword move and resurrected Keldeo, adding him to their team, and together they ended the war between the two kingdoms before never being seen of again.

That legend was the last one featured in the book and I closed it. Then one of the bookshelves in the center of the library suddenly moved across the floor, revealing a hidden staircase.

Hilda and I got up from our respective areas and walked to the beginning of the staircase. We headed down the staircase and entered an underground battlefield. Lenora was standing on the other side of it with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Welcome Nero Hishiro. Are you ready for your battle!?" Lenora bellowed out the question.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter IV**

"The Nacrene City Gym match between the Gym Leader Lenora and the challenger, Nero Hishiro, will no commence!" the robotic referee announced.

"I will pick first, Nero," Lenora said, sending out a Herdier.

"Go Cubone!" I called out.

Hilda pointed her Pokédex at Herdier.

"Herdier, the Loyal Dog Pokémon. This very loyal Pokémon helps Trainers, and it also takes care of other Pokémon," her Pokédex said.

"Begin!" the referee robot announced.

"Cubone, use Bone Rush!" I called out.

"Respond with Take Down!" Lenora countered.

"Use your bone to vault yourself over Herdier and then use Bonemerang!" I responded quickly.

Cubone and Herdier rushed in toward each other, but Cubone drove his bone into the ground to vault himself over Herdier. Cubone twisted around and threw his bone toward the Normal-type.

"Catch it," Lenora said calmly.

Herdier turned and caught the bone in his mouth as Cubone landed on the ground.

"Big mistake, Cubone use Rage!" I called out.

Cubone ran in so fast he might as well have been possessed by some kind of demon. He grabbed his bone with both paws and lifted Herdier up into the air.

"_GIVE! ME! BACK! MY! BONE_!" Cubone as he slammed Herdier into the ground over and over again until he released Cubone's bone.

The dust settled and it was revealed that Herdier had been knocked out.

"Herdier is unable to battle, the winner is Cubone!" the referee announced.

"Herdier, return, you did great. That is some very impressive battling Nero," Lenora said.

"Thank you," I responded.

"But I'm not going to give up! Go Sawsbuck!" Lenora called out.

I brought out my Pokédex for this Pokémon.

"Sawsbuck, the Season Pokémon. They migrate according to seasons, so some people call Sawsbuck the harbingers of spring," my Pokédex said.

Sawsbuck is a deer-like Pokémon that is mainly brown and cream in coloration. It has cream fur on its chest and limbs has expanded and is white looking somewhat like a fur coat, antlers white and bare, tail pointed down.

"Cubone, use Headbutt!" I called out.

Cubone charged in.

"Double Kick," Lenora responded.

Sawsbuck reared up and kicked Cubone with his two front hooves, knocking the Ground-type out.

"Cubone is unable to battle, Sawsbuck is the winner!" the referee announced.

"Cubone, return, you did great," I said with a smile.

Up in the stands Hilda was joined by "everyone's favorite thief" Spectra.

"So how's he doing?" Spectra asked.

"They're both down one Pokémon each," Hilda responded.

"Go Charmeleon!" I called out.

My Fire-type appeared and glared at Sawsbuck.

"Flamethrower!" I called out.

"Use Take Down!" Lenora countered.

Charmeleon exhaled a torrent of flames, but Sawsbuck just ran through it like it was nothing. Charmeleon rolled out of the way of the oncoming deer.

"Double Kick!" Lenora called out.

"Catch it!" I countered.

"What!?" Lenora questioned my response.

Sawsbuck reared up in front of Charmeleon, but the Fire-type grabbed both of his front hooves and stopped the Normal/Grass-type from attacking.

"Flamethrower!" I called out.

Charmeleon exhaled a massive amount of flames into Sawsbuck's chest area, sending the Season Pokémon airborne. Sawsbuck crashed down on the ground and struggled to get back to his feet.

"Dragon Claw!" I called out.

Charmeleon stabbed his claws into the ground and ran toward Sawsbuck. He jumped up into the air, barraging Sawsbuck with stones.

"Energy Ball!" Lenora called out.

Sawsbuck fired a green energy orb, hitting Charmeleon in the chest, and knocking the Fire-type to the ground.

"Use Horn Leech!" Lenora called out.

Sawsbuck's antlers glowed and green tendrils latched themselves around Charmeleon, sapping his energy away to Sawsbuck.

"Break free," I said calmly.

Charmeleon slashed through the tendrils, only giving away little energy.

"Finish this with Flamethrower," I added.

Charmeleon exhaled a massive amount of flames into Sawsbuck, knocking him out.

"Sawsbuck is unable to battle, Charmeleon is the winner!" the referee announced.

"Wow… I've never seen Nero battle this way," Hilda said.

"He's battling with nothing held back, nothing to lose… maybe it has something to do with absorbing the White Stone," Spectra muttered to herself.

Lenora returned Sawsbuck to his Pokéball.

"You seem to have backed me up in a corner, Nero," Lenora said, readying her next Pokéball.

"I'll take that as a compliment to my awesome battling," I responded.

Lenora chuckled.

"Yes. You're very impressive, but just because I'm backed up in a corner, does not mean I'm going to lie down and let you win. You have to earn this victory Nero Hishiro!" Lenora boomed over at me, sending out her next Pokémon.

Spectra aimed her Pokédex and smiled.

"Watchog, the Lookout Pokémon. Using luminescent matter, it makes its eyes and body glow and stuns attacking opponents," her Pokédex said.

Watchog is an upright, meerkat-like Pokémon with large cheeks and a single, pointed incisor sticking out of its mouth. It is mainly reddish brown with beige cheeks and neck. There is yellow striping on its chest and tail. Its hands, feet and tail tip are white. Its red eyes have small black pupils and a yellow stripe. Black markings accentuate the eyes at their outer ends. Its tail is almost exclusively depicted standing up straight, although it can also be kept in a relaxed position.

There are luminescent compounds in Watchog's body that allow its stripes and eyes to glow. It uses this ability to threaten predators. Its cheeks can hold a large amount of seeds, which it collects and spits at its opponents. Watchog possess night vision and can view its surroundings in the darkness.

"Watchog use Flash!" Lenora called out.

Watchog's stripes and eyes glowed a blinding light that illuminated the whole battlefield, obstructing Charmeleon's and my vision.

"Now use Super Fang!" I heard Lenora call out.

Watchog ran forward as the light began to fade, and bit onto Charmeleon's arm. He lifted the Fire-type up off the ground and swung him back into it.

"Flamethrower!" I called out.

Charmeleon exhaled a bunch of flames at Watchog, forcing the Normal-type to release him.

"Charmeleon return!" I called out, returning him to his Pokéball.

He was really disoriented by Flash, so I was going to have him rest.

"Go Haunter!" I called out.

The Ghost/Poison-type appeared and stuck her tongue out at Watchog.

"_What you want me to do? What you want me to do, Nero_?" Haunter asked.

Up in the stands, Spectra noticed Haunter right away.

"Hmm… she's new," Spectra muttered.

"Yeah, Nero caught her before he challenged the Gym," Hilda explained.

Back at the battle, Lenora smiled at my choice.

"Smart using a Ghost-type, but not smart enough. Watchog use Foresight!" Lenora called out.

Haunter and I readied ourselves as Watchog simply watched Haunter.

"_Yikes, do I got something on my face or does he need a camera to capture my beauty_?" Haunter asked, not taking this seriously.

"Now use Super Fang!" Lenora called out.

Watchog ran forward and bit into one of Haunter's disembodied hands.

"Wait, Normal-types aren't supposed to touch Ghost-types?" I questioned.

"Foresight allows me to do just that," Lenora explained.

"_Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow_!" Haunter complained, shaking her hand around, throwing Watchog across the battlefield.

"Haunter, use Poison Jab!" I called out.

Haunter's disembodied hands glowed purple and then went in opposite directions to flank Watchog and deliver the Poison-type attack from both sides.

Watchog fell to his knees and struggled to rise as purple shading came over his face. He was poisoned!

"Now use Poison Jab again!" I called out.

"Crunch!" Lenora called out.

Watchog ran forward with Haunter's disembodied hands chasing after him and bit onto Haunter's head.

"_Ow! No biting_!" Haunter called out, firing a pulse of dark energy into Watchog, launching him into the incoming Poison Jab.

Watchog fell over from the enormous amounts of attacks and fainted.

"Watchog is unable to battle! All of Lenora's Pokémon are unable to battle! Nero Hishiro is the victor!" the referee announced, pointing one of its flags in my direction.

I won.

"Alright!" I shouted, running over to hug Haunter.

Well, I mostly hugged her head and her disembodied hands played with my hair. That gave me the chills, but I ignored it.

Lenora then approached us and I released Haunter.

"Congratulations Nero Hishiro, here is your badge to show you were victorious at the Nacrene City Gym, the Basic Badge," Lenora said, handing me a badge.

I had gold bordering with a purple inside that made it look like the spine of a book. I put in my Dad's old badge case my mother had given me a couple of months ago right next to where my Trio Badge lay.

Suddenly I was blindsided by a tackling hug from Hilda. We went to the ground together and everyone in the surrounding area laughed heartily. It was a light moment for the dark moments about to come back into our lives.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter V**

An hour after my victory at the Nacrene City Gym, I was at the Pokémon Center healing Hilda's and my Pokémon while she was shopping for some food for the road.

After healing our Pokémon, I found a bench outside to wait for her with all of our Pokémon.

"_That was fun_!" Haunter exclaimed, floating around my head.

"Glad you think so," I responded, chuckling.

I noticed that Zorua was awfully quiet and stood off away from the rest of us. I stood to my feet and sat down on the curb next to where she was sitting.

"Hey, everything okay?" I asked her.

"_Yeah_," she responded quickly.

"Are you sure?" I asked her.

"_Yes, I'm fine Nero_!" Zorua snapped, standing to her feet.

She glared at me, but gave away that there was something eating away at her. I noticed Hilda walking over with bags of groceries in her arms. I got to my feet and helped her put the groceries away.

"Thanks," she said, smiling.

Zorua rolled her eyes and looked away.

"Mind watching the Pokémon for a second? I need to do something," I asked her.

"Sure. What do you need to do?" Hilda asked me.

"Oh, it's nothing to get concerned about, just something I need to do," I responded.

Hilda looked at me and I briefly nodded toward Zorua. Hilda nodded, understanding what I meant, and I walked over to Zorua.

"Let's go for a walk," I said.

"_I don't want to_," Zorua responded.

"Come on, it'll just be the two of us," I said.

Zorua mulled it over for a few seconds, but relented.

"We'll be back in a bit," I said, looking at Hilda's and my other Pokémon.

"_Where are you going_?" Cubone asked.

"Zorua and I are going on a walk to… discuss some things," I said.

"_You'll be coming back right_?" Cubone asked.

"_Of course, he's leaving his precious motorcycle_," Zorua said.

"Ha, ha," I responded.

Zorua and I then walked away together. We headed out the west exit of Nacrene City right on the border of a massive forest.

"Great, that's going to be a pain in the ass to get through," I muttered.

"_Yup_," Zorua agreed.

We walked along the border of the forest and I found a stump to sit on.

"Alright, tell me what's going on with you," I said.

"_Nothing's wrong_," Zorua insisted.

"Bullshit, you've been grumpier than usual, what is wrong with you?" I asked her again.

"_Do you want to know what's wrong with me_?" Zorua asked, glaring at me.

"I do," I responded.

"_I hate everyone in this "little group"," _Zorua said.

"Why?" I asked.

"_You all annoy me_," Zorua responded.

"I thought you got along with Charmeleon and Cubone?" I questioned.

"_Charmeleon is a hothead and Cubone is a crybaby, Honchkrow is a vain, stupid, asshole, and Haunter is some peppy little thief_," Zorua growled.

"Zorua," I said, reaching down toward her.

"_Don't touch me_!" she snapped, firing a Pursuit at me.

I ducked under it.

"If you hate us all so much, then why stick around?" I asked her.

"_Because I can't bring myself to leave no matter how much I want to_," Zorua admitted.

"Why?" I asked.

"_Because you're the best Trainer I've ever had_…," Zorua admitted.

"You've had other Trainers?" I asked.

"_Yes, four of them, and all four have released me because they got tired of me_," Zorua muttered.

"Why would they get tired of you?" I asked her.

"_Because I have an attitude problem_," Zorua muttered.

"Were they… like me?" I asked.

"_No, they couldn't understand me, but that didn't stop them from throwing me away like trash_," Zorua growled.

"I'm not going to throw you away, Zorua. You know I'm not like that," I said.

"_I know, but I just can't stand being around everyone_," Zorua said.

"I don't blame you, everyone here has their quirks that can get to you after a while, but you got to acknowledge their quirks and accept them," I said.

"_Why should I_?" Zorua asked.

"Because we put up with your quirks. Charmeleon has no qualms with you, Honchkrow is… well Honchkrow, but cares for you anyway, Cubone looks up to you, and Haunter just wants to be your friend. Come on, Zorua, lighten up a bit," I said.

"_What if I don't want to_?" Zorua asked me.

"Then you can continue feeling like this," I said.

She narrowed her eyes at my ultimatum, but sighed.

"_Alright, I'll try to lighten up, but I won't promise anything_," Zorua said.

"That's all that I ask for, Zorua, that you try, and that you're happy," I said.

Zorua rolled her eyes.

"_Wow, you're such a sap at times_," Zorua said.

"Yeah, I know, but I still care about all of you guys," I said.

"_I know… Nero, thanks… for everything_," Zorua said, smiling up at me.

"No, thank you for everything," I said.

"_I think we should get back to the others before Cubone starts freaking out_," Zorua said.

"Yeah," I agreed.

We began walking back to the others.

"_You're an odd Trainer, Nero Hishiro_," Reshiram told me.

I slowed my walking and let Zorua get out of earshot.

"Oh? How so?" I asked.

"_You care about your Pokémon like they're family, not tools_," Reshiram said.

I smiled at that and looked at Zorua as she rejoined the other Pokémon Hilda and I had caught.

"They are my family and I love them all," I admitted.

"_Be careful, Nero Hishiro, losing the ones you love can undo everything in your life and send you down into despair_," Reshiram warned me.

I mulled over what he had just said as I rejoined the others.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter VI**

Hilda and I returned all of our Pokémon back to their Pokéballs and rode out of the west exit of Nacrene City on my motorcycle.

I stopped at the border of the massive forest I had seen before with Zorua and read a sign off the side of the road.

"Welcome to Pinwheel Forest," I read.

"We're not going to get to Castelia City like this Nero, let's go," Hilda rushed me along.

"Alright," I responded, riding into Pinwheel Forest.

The noon-time sunlight was immediately dimmed beneath the sprawling canopy above our heads.

I stopped my motorcycle, so I could appropriately take in the sights of everything around me. There was a whole bunch of different Pokémon around, above, and beneath me.

"I'm sorry, but I got to stop and take this all in," I said.

"Alright," Hilda responded.

I turned my motorcycle's engine off and stood to my feet. I pulled out my Pokédex just so I could get all of the information on all of these new Pokémon.

I got the information on Caterpie, Metapod, Butterfree, Weedle, Kakuna, Beedrill, Slakoth, Vigoroth, Slaking, Sewaddle, Swadloon, Venipede, Whirlipede, and Scolipede.

Caterpie is a serpentine Pokémon that resembles the larvae of the Spicebush Swallowtail. It is a green caterpillar with yellow ring-shaped markings down the sides of its body. It also has large yellow eyes with black pupils. Its most notable characteristic is the bright red antenna on its head, which releases a stench to repel predators. These and the large eye-shaped markings help to startle predators. Its feet are tipped with suction cups, permitting this Pokémon to scale most surfaces with minimal effort.

Metapod resembles a chrysalis. Its soft body is protected by a hard outer shell while it undergoes metamorphosis. While this shell is said to be as hard as steel, a sudden, powerful impact could cause its tender body to pop out, leaving it completely exposed. Metapod generally remains motionless, preparing its soft innards for evolution inside its hard shell. If an enemy discovers Metapod, it is unable to do anything other than harden its outer shell. Metapod lives in forests.

Butterfree resembles a vaguely anthropomorphic butterfly with a purple body. Unlike true insects, it only has two body segments and four light blue legs. Butterfree has two black antennae, a light blue snout with two fangs underneath, and large, red compound eyes. Its two pairs of veined wings are white with black accents. The oval scales of a female Butterfree's lower wings are black, but white in males.

Weedle is a small, yellow, orange, or brown larva Pokémon with a segmented body. Combined with its red, pink, or purple nose and feet, Weedle's bright coloration wards off its enemies. Weedle has a conical, two-inch poisonous stinger on its head and a barbed one on its tail, but every other body part is spherical.

Kakuna is a yellow, cocoon Pokémon. Kakuna has a dome-shaped head and black, triangular eyes. It has two scythe-like arms in the middle of its body. When it comes close to evolving, its body gives off heat that makes it warm to the touch. Kakuna remains virtually immobile and waits for evolution often hanging from tree branches by long strands of silk. When attacked, however, it can extend its poison barbs. Kakuna nests in forests and misty wooded areas.

Beedrill mostly resembles a bipedal wasp; however, it only has four legs instead of six and lacks pigment pits. Beedrill's head is round with a slightly pointed mouth, large, red eyes, and antennae in the shape of the number seven. Its forelegs are tipped with long, conical stingers. It stands on its other two legs, which are long, segmented, and insectoid in shape. Beedrill has two pairs of rounded, veined wings, and another stinger on its striped abdomen.

Slakoth is a brown, quadruped Pokémon with sloth-like qualities. It has coarse, shaggy fur with dark brown stripes on its back. It has a scruff of fur on the top of its head and a large, pig-like pink nose. Its pink eyelids are visible when it has a sleepy expression. Its underbelly, rear, and the paw pads on its back feet are also pink. It has long arms with two sharp claws.

Vigoroth is a white, sloth-like, bipedal Pokémon with a teardrop-shaped tuft of red fur on its forehead. It has stubby ears, two small, triangular visible teeth in each jaw, and large eyes encircled by brown rings. The two stripes on its back and maw are also brown. Its arms are long, and its hands and feet have two sharp black claws. The undersides of its hands and feet have circular red pads, with its rear also having a baboon-like patch of red. The fur on its chest, tail, and sides of its maw are shaggy.

Slaking is a large, bulky, ape-like bipedal Pokémon. Most of its fur is brown, along with the semi-circle patterning encircling its eyes. Its face, chest, hands, and feet are lighter in color. Its brows are thick and jutting. It has a white collar of fur around its neck, extending toward the top of its head in a small tuft. It also has a large, pink, pig-like nose.

Sewaddle is a caterpillar-like Pokémon with a broad, bitten leaf enfolding its head like a hood. Its large, spherical head is an orange-yellow with two small, close-together knobs on its forehead. Sewaddle's eyes are black and circular, and its mouth has a downward-pointing, crescent-shaped orange snout with a sharp tiny tooth at either end. The underside between the snout and its neck is white. Its green body has three segments with a pair stubby, spherical orange legs on each segment.

Swadloon is a round, yellow Pokémon inside of a cloak of leaves. It drapes the leaves over itself and draws them closed around its body, so only a large, crescent slit remains for its face to appear. This leafy cloak keeps the Pokémon warm. Under its cloak are darker green, limp leaves which frame the sides of Swadloon's face and trail down on the sides of its body. The top of the cloak has two semicircular leaves that form a V shape. On its back are the veins of the leaf as well as a bit at the bottom tip of the cloak resembling a rounded tail. Swadloon lives on the forest floor and converts fallen leaves into nourishment, which helps the surrounding plant life grow.

Venipede is an insectoid Pokémon with a pronounced hump on the upper portion of its body. Its thorax and head are mainly magenta with black markings that consist of rings on its shoulders, a band around each antenna, and an upside-down 'Y' on its neck. A prominent ridge leading down to a pointed tip splits the top half of its head, and its lower jaw is black. It has round, heavy-lidded eyes that bulge away from the head slightly. Venipede's dark green abdomen is segmented, and it has four pairs of stubby black legs. Two short feelers banded with black extend from its hindquarters, which it uses in addition to its antennae to explore its surroundings and detect prey by sensing air vibrations. Venipede is brutally aggressive, and its bite injects a poison strong enough to paralyze large bird Pokémon.

Whirlipede is a gray, hard-shelled, curled tire-like Pokémon, with various spikes projecting out of the shell. Magenta rings adorn the various segments of its round body, with two especially long spikes or antennae-like extensions, as well as another pair on the opposite side of its body, banded with a darker shade of gray. The inner portion of its body is also dark gray. Its yellow eyes have pronounced gray eyelids.

Scolipede is an centipede-like Pokémon that is bright magenta interspersed with purple rings spaced evenly along its segmented upper body. Its horns, extending from its head in a similar way to antennae, are long and slightly twisted. Purple banding decorates its horns, as well as its similarly-shaped dual tails. It has four pairs of purple-tipped forelegs, capable of injecting poison. Its legs further down its body are longer, with curved black patterns and black tipping on the extremities of the limb.

"It is so nice here," I said.

Suddenly an explosion off in the distance destroyed the peace and niceness, and sent various Pokémon running, flying, or swinging through the trees away from the explosion.

I; however, ran toward the explosion. I lowered my head beneath a layer of smoke and saw a massive tank-like machine plowing over trees. It was then that I saw the Team Plasma logo on the machine.

"Shit…," I muttered as Team Plasma mind control devices were fired from the machine and onto the fleeing Pokémon.

The Pokémon who were hit lined up in three single-file lines behind the machine and followed it.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter VI**

I jumped onto the back of the machine and pulled myself onto the top of it where I saw Colress and two other Team Plasma members standing there. Colress was operating the machine while the grunts were taking over the Pokémon.

"Hey, it's the meddlesome kid from the Nacrene City Museum, Wellspring Cave, and the Dreamyard," one of the grunts said, pointing at me.

"Aww, you remember me," I responded sarcastically.

I ran at the grunts and knocked one of them off the side of the machine. The second grunt put me in a headlock from behind, but using my size, I bent forward, taking the grunt off his feet and then pulled the grunt over myself.

I threw him off the side of the machine as well, but as I turned to face Colress, he hit me in the stomach with an electric prodder. I yelled out in pain and dropped to my knees.

"You fight like a child," he said, pushing me onto my side with his foot.

"You fight… like a… fucking coward," I groaned.

"And yet you're the one being knocked off the side of my machine," Colress pointed out, pushing me off the side of the machine with his foot.

I landed on the machine's treads as it continued to plow through the forest. I began being carried toward the front of the machine on the treads. If I kept going I'd fall off in front of the machine's treads and get crushed.

I was struggling to get over the numbness that electric prodder gave me and was getting closer to getting crushed to death.

"Shit…," I groaned.

Suddenly an elegantly slender form jumped onto the treads in front of me, scooped me over its head, and jumped off the treads, saving my life.

I looked around as the machine continued to plow through the forest.

"What…?" I questioned.

I was riding a Pokémon! I pulled out my Pokédex and aimed it at the Pokémon as it bounded through the forest away from the machine.

"Virizion, the Grassland Pokémon. Legends say this Pokémon confounded opponents with its swift movements," my Pokédex said.

Virizion is a deer or antelope-like, quadruped Pokémon that is primarily green. On the sides of its head are horns that end in dull, curled points. It has a pointed snout with a black blaze running from its nose to the back of its head. Its face, hind legs, and underside are white. There is a pinked-tipped leaf on each side of its neck, and leafy tufts on its shoulders. On its back, there are pointed tufts of fur forming a medium-long tail. Its lower legs resemble knee-high boots with pink highlights at the knees, and it has black hooves.

It was one of the Swords of Justice!

"Why… why did you save me?" I asked Virizion.

The Legendary Pokémon stopped and I slid off, but was still too weak to stand and fell onto my back.

"_Careful human_," a feminine voice warned me.

It was Virizion.

"I'm fine…," I tried reassuring her, but failed miserably.

"_I didn't save the Hero of Truth just so he can go out and kill himself again_," Virizion said.

"_Greetings Virizion, you're looking lovely_," Reshiram greeted Virizion.

"_Hello to you as well, Reshiram_," Virizion responded, nodding curtly.

"You can hear him too?" I questioned.

"_Yes, she can hear me_," Reshiram answered.

"How? My Pokémon can't hear you?" I asked.

"_Well, I'm special_," Virizion responded.

"_Still vain_," Reshiram said.

"Alright, enough introductions. Thank you for saving my life, but I got to go free those Pokémon," I said, struggling to get to my feet.

"_You realize you can die, right_?" Virizion asked me.

"I don't care. I'm not going to let Team Plasma get away," I said.

I got to my feet and began walking toward where the machine was plowing. I let out all of my Pokémon from their Pokéballs.

"I need your help. We need to stop that machine," I said, pointing at the Team Plasma machine leading the lines of mind controlled Pokémon.

"_Well __hello__ beautiful_," Honchkrow greeted Virizion.

"Oh great…," I muttered.

"_And who might you be_?" Virizion asked, rolling her eyes.

"_The bane of my existence_," Zorua muttered, using Fury Swipes on Honchkrow's face.

"_Ow! Ow! Not the face! My beautiful face! Noooooooo_!" Honchkrow cried out in dismay as Zorua and Charmeleon dragged him away.

Cubone cautiously approached Virizion.

"_You're pretty_," he said.

"_Now aren't you sweet_," Virizion responded, kneeling in front of Cubone.

"_Of course… she likes that little runt_," Honchkrow muttered.

"_Can't blame her, Cubone is a sweetie_," Haunter remarked, laughing to herself.

"Alright, we need to get back on track. Honchkrow, Haunter, I need you to knock Colress off his machine. Cubone, Zorua, Charmeleon and I will be freeing the Pokémon," I laid out the plan.

Honchkrow and Haunter nodded and flew off toward the machine.

"Let's go," I said to the others.

"_Nero Hishiro_," Virizion spoke up, stopping me.

"What?" I asked her, turning back.

"_Be careful. You are too valuable to lose over a foolish decision_," she said.

"I'm saving innocent Pokémon who are being used as tools for some psychopaths to achieve their misguided goals. I thought you'd do the same," I responded.

Virizion looked taken back at my response and looked away.

"Let's go," I said, leading my Pokémon into the lines of wild Pokémon following the Team Plasma machine.

"_Nero stop_," Reshiram warned me.

"No," I responded.

"_You will be killed_," Reshiram said.

"I'm willing to risk that," I responded.

I then tuned out Reshiram's voice and ran for the lines of Pokémon following Colress and his machine.

"Charmeleon use Dragon Claw, Zorua use Fury Swipes, and Cubone use Bonemerang!" I called out as I ripped one of Team Plasma's control devices off a Vigoroth and crushed it beneath my boot.

Charmeleon ran down a line with his draconic-energy-infused claws and freed a bunch of Pokémon. Zorua bounded on top of Pokémon and sliced the mind control devices. Cubone through his bone and it twirled around, smashing into several of the devices before coming back to Cubone.

Colress looked down at us from his machine and shook his head.

"Tsk, tsk, he never learns… Take care of them all," Colress said to the remaining of his mind controlled Pokémon.

A Whirlipede suddenly turned and used Rollout toward me. I heard a familiar engine rev toward me and Hilda with Chikorita, Nidorino, and Kirlia behind her on the seat, spun my motorcycle around me.

"Nidorino, use Take Down!" she called out.

Nidorino launched off my motorcycle and hit the oncoming Whirlipede, destroying the mind control device.

"Nice save," I said to Hilda.

She punched me in the chest.

"Why must you get in the middle of these things?" she asked me angrily.

"Because I have a hero complex, I don't know," I responded.

"WATCH OUT!" Hilda screamed as a Scolipede behind me fired a Hyper Beam attack.

I turned and looked at the attack as it headed straight for me, but then Charmeleon appeared in front of me and fired his Flamethrower attack. The two attacks met and the ensuing explosion knocked us all off our feet.

Colress watched the battle from atop the machine with a smile on his face. Honchkrow and Haunter then appeared and attacked.

Colress sidestepped a Poison Jab from Haunter and ducked under Honchkrow's Peck. He took out his electric prodder and hit Honchkrow in the chest with it. Electricity surged through his body and he fell onto the moving treads just like I did.

"_Honchkrow_!" Haunter cried out as he got closer to the end of the treads.

Haunter drove a Shadow Punch into Colress' chest, knocking him into the machine's controls. This caused the machine to go faster and bring Honchkrow closer to his demise. Haunter shot through the air and grabbed the Big Boss Pokémon before he could be crushed.

"_That was close…_," Honchkrow said, looking at Haunter.

"_You're welcome_," Haunter responded, flying back up to the controls.

She and Honchkrow then fired a Dark Pulse each and destroyed the controls and causing the machine to stop. Haunter then saw a remote lying next to Colress and picked it up.

"_This must be the control device_," Haunter said, crushing it in her disembodied hands.

"_Oops_," she said, letting the broken pieces fall.

All of the Pokémon Colress had taken control of were now free and ran off in various directions. Haunter and Honchkrow flew back to me.

Colress stood to his feet and glared down at me through the cracked lens of his glasses.

"You meddlesome child!" he snapped, pulling the end of his prodder off, revealing it to also being a spear.

He tossed it down toward Charmeleon. I saw it coming.

"No!" I shouted, putting myself in the spear's path.

I took it through the stomach and fell in a heap on the ground. Colress watched me fall and pulled out a radio.

"I need a pickup," he said and a Kirlia appeared and teleported Colress away.

"Nero, no!" Hilda screamed, dropping to her knees beside me.

"_Why would you do that_?" Reshiram asked me angrily.

"Why… not," I responded, pulling the spear out of me.

Blood stained my front and the ground. Virizion approached me.

"You sacrificed yourself for your Pokémon…," Virizion said.

"I would do anything… for him…," I responded.

"_Then you do not deserve to die_," Virizion said, tapping my wound with her hoof.

The wound glowed and closed. Virizion had just healed me. She had just saved my life. I looked at her with such gratitude.

"Thank you…," I said.

"_No thank you for showing me I was wrong… I shouldn't have stayed back the way I did. I apologize_," Virizion said.

"I don't blame you. Humans make it difficult," I said.

Virizion nodded and then looked at Hilda, who was staring at her in amazement.

"You… you are the most beautiful Pokémon I've ever seen," Hilda said, causing angry glances from Zorua, Haunter, Chikorita, and Kirlia.

"_Thank you_," Virizion said, nodding curtly.

She then stood and ran off into the deeper part of the forest.

"_You are a fool Nero Hishiro_," Reshiram spoke to me.

"How so?" I asked.

"_You risk your own life for others_," Reshiram said.

"So," I responded.

"_You will die because of this heroic nature you hold, but not before all of those who you hold close to you perish_," Reshiram said.

"Just shut up," I said, shutting away the voice, and going back to seeing fire and death every time I blink.

I shook my head and put up my mental walls.

"Let's go," I said, returning all of my Pokémon to their Pokéballs.

Hilda did the same and we sat on my motorcycle. We rode back onto the path that led out of the Pinwheel Forest.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter VIII**

Hilda and I rode out of Pinwheel Forest and approached a massive bridge that stretched out over Unova Bay, connecting us to Castelia City.

"Nero! Hilda!" I heard a bubbly voice call over at us.

I turned and saw Bianca running over to us. Hilda and I got off my motorcycle and greeted our childhood friend.

"How've you been, Bianca?" I asked.

"I've been awesome. How've you two lovebirds been?" Bianca asked.

"We broke up," I said nonchalantly.

"WHAT!?" Hilda and Bianca screamed.

"Kidding," I responded, chuckling.

Hilda kicked me in the shin and walked toward Sky Arrow Bridge.

"Learn to take a joke!" I called after her, walking my motorcycle across the bridge behind her.

"So… Nero, how's that whole Legendary Pokémon spirit talking in your head thing?" Bianca asked to rid ourselves of the awkward silence.

"Annoying," I responded.

"Hello you three," Cheren greeted us from up ahead.

"Cheren!" Bianca squealed, hugging our friend.

"Bianca, release," Cheren said calmly.

Bianca released him.

"Good Bianca, have a cookie," Cheren said, handing over a cookie from his pack.

"Ooh cookie!" Bianca squealed, eating the cookie.

I chuckled and shook hands with Cheren.

"How've you been, Nero?" Cheren asked.

"I've been fine," I responded.

"Still hearing voices?" Cheren asked.

"Yeah," I admitted.

Suddenly I felt a breeze drift between my legs and Cheren began laughing at my expense. I looked down and saw my pants were down around my ankles.

"Hello Ms. Flame," I greeted my kleptomaniac friend.

"Hey Nero, is this a new belt?" Spectra asked, admiring the freshly stolen belt.

"Actually yes it is, and I would love to have it back," I said.

"Fine," Spectra groaned, handing over my belt.

I pulled up my pants and tied my belt around my waist.

"Nice boxers," Spectra said, winking at me.

I flipped her off.

"Greetings everyone," N greeted us, walking up to Spectra's side.

I then noticed that Spectra took N's hand in her own.

"Oh shit… no…," I said, seeing this.

"Yup," Spectra responded, smiling victoriously.

"N, is she holding you hostage?" I asked him.

"No, she just asked me out and I said yes," N responded.

"What did she steal from you to get you to say yes?" I asked.

"Sparx, use Thunderbolt," Spectra muttered angrily.

Her white Pikachu came out and electrocuted me. Spectra then led N away and Sparx followed. Bianca and Cheren helped to my feet and left me to walk my motorcycle across the Sky Arrow Bridge.

We all got to Castelia City together and I saw Hilda waiting there for us.

"Hey Bianca, Cheren, Spectra, and N," she greeted them.

"What? No hello to me?" I asked.

"Guess not," Hilda responded icily.

Spectra looked between us.

"Ooh, couple fight! I'm on Hilda's side!" Spectra called out.

I wanted to strangle her right there for three reasons: one for announcing, two for siding with Hilda over me, and three for being Spectra.

Hilda sighed and walked away.

"Where are you going!?" I called after her.

"To the Pokémon Center to rest my Pokémon and to rent a cot for myself," Hilda responded.

I stood there and watched her leave. Cheren and Bianca then snuck away and Spectra led N away from me, so I was left with just my motorcycle.

I groaned and got on my motorcycle. I rode off toward the nearest motel to book a room for myself.

Beneath the city in its sprawling sewer labyrinth, Team Plasma grunts were walking around with their mind control devices in hand.

They then found a whole swarm of Grimer and Muk.

Grimer is a slimy, amorphous blob-like Pokémon, made of living purple sludge. Its body is a pungent cesspool of bacteria, which are so potent that it renders soil barren and incapable of supporting plant life ever again. It has two large eyes with beady little pupils, and a gaping mouth with a grey tongue. While it lacks any visible legs, it does have two arms with three digits on each hand. It is constantly oozing; endlessly leaking a germ-infected fluid from all parts of its body. Pieces of it often break off during travel, and from these pieces new Grimer will begin to grow. When combined with another Grimer, it produces new poisonous compounds.

Due to its lack of a solid form, it is capable of squeezing into any space or crevices with relative ease. It uses this to penetrate sewage pipes so that it may feed off of the filthy waste water inside. It happily consumes and thrives off nearly any form of waste or refuse. It can be found in polluted lakes and streams, as well as within cities and factories where trash and industrial waste can be found.

Muk is a large, sticky, amorphous Pokémon, made of living purple sludge. It has two small eyes with beady black pupils. It also has an enormous mouth with a grey tongue and strands of ooze connecting its top and bottom jaws. While it has no visible legs, it does have two arms with three fingers on each hand. However, it typically keeps one hand tucked in while it extends the other hand.

It is a living biohazard, leaking toxins that instantly kill all plant life it touches. Even it being in close proximity to plants will cause them to wilt and die. Extreme caution is advised in avoiding any contact with this Pokémon, as an accidental brush up can lead to severe sickness. The effects of this Pokémon can leave the landscape barren for three years.

In dirty residential areas where people throw trash into the streets, it is almost certain to appear. It will readily consume nearly any waste or refuse generated by people and Pokémon alike. It can be found in heavily polluted bodies of water, cities and factories.

"This is going to be a big mess for everyone above us," one grunt said to the other.

"Yeah, it'd be a perfect distraction so Colress can start his research with those fossils he found," the other grunt responded.

They began firing their mind control devices into the Grimer and Muk soon creating an army out of the Poison-type Pokémon.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter IX**

I walked into the motel room I purchased for the next couple of nights and closed the door behind me. I turned the light on and the lone bed looked more like a coffin. Lone. Alone. Just like me.

"_It's for the better_," Reshiram said to me.

"Fuck you," I responded.

"_You will soon see that I am right_," Reshiram said.

"I don't care if you're right or not, this is _not _for the better," I growled.

I brought out all of my Pokémon to keep me company and to keep my mind on something else.

"_Where's Hilda_?" Cubone asked.

"She's uh… staying at the Pokémon Center for the night," I said, rubbing the back of my neck.

"_What did you do_?" Zorua asked.

"What makes you think I did anything?" I questioned.

"_You're a guy, it's __always__ your fault_," Haunter said.

"_Even I know that, bro_," Honchkrow said.

I groaned and sat on my bed. Haunter and Cubone were the first to go up to me and try to comfort me. Cubone crawled onto my lap and just lay on his stomach. Haunter nuzzled her head beneath one of my arms and put her disembodied hands around me. I felt my body temperature drop a couple of degrees, but I ignored it.

Honchkrow jumped up onto the bed and wrapped his wing around me. Then Zorua jumped up and curled into a ball between Honchkrow and me. Charmeleon was the only one who didn't do much to comfort me.

"_I don't hug_," he growled.

I looked at the rest of my Pokémon and we smiled at the Fire-type deviously.

"_I will set you all on fire_," Charmeleon threatened.

"_Pokémon-pile_!" Haunter called out and we all jumped onto Charmeleon, piling on top of him.

Charmeleon was on his stomach with Haunter and Honchkrow on top of him. I was on top of them, Cubone was sitting on my back, and Zorua was sitting on my head.

Charmeleon growled and pushed off the floor with his claws, lifting all of us off the ground.

"_The Charmeleon ride is over_!" Haunter called out, phasing through all of us to escape

A cold chill passed through me and I saw my own breath. I fell over with Zorua and Cubone and Honchkrow flew off to escape. Charmeleon stood tall and brushed off his shoulders.

"_Tackle Nero_!" he called out, jumping onto me.

I felt Honchkrow join the fray as well as Haunter and Zorua. Then I saw from beneath the writhing mass of Pokémon on top of me that Cubone climbed onto the bed and jumped on top of all of us.

"Alright, enough," I said, getting to my feet, and knocking a few Pokémon off me.

Someone then knocked on my door and all six of us turned to it.

"_I wonder if it's Hilda_," Cubone wondered hopefully.

I silently hoped it was as I approached the door.

"Who is it?" I asked.

No answer. I looked back at my Pokémon, who were growing suspicious now. I looked at Haunter and motioned my head for her to go check who is outside the hotel room. She nodded and phased straight through the wall.

She reappeared seconds later.

"_No one's there_," she said.

I opened the door and she was telling the truth. I poked my head out of my room and looked left and looked right, but no one was there. I then looked down on the ground and saw a piece of paper laying there. I knelt down and picked up the paper. I looked at it, but nothing was written on it.

"What the hell is going on?" I questioned, standing erect.

Suddenly a man with white hair wearing a black outfit dropped down from above and through a punch at me. I sidestepped the attack and slammed the man's head into the door frame.

A second white-haired man broke in through the door leading out onto the balcony and threw three darts at me. Cubone tossed his bone to deflect the attack and jumped to catch his weapon. I turned to face the second man as he kicked a chair at me. I ducked under it and tackled the man to the ground. I threw a punch at him, but he caught my wrist, and pulled himself out from under me. He wrapped an arm around my neck and began choking me.

"Flamethrower!" I choked out to Charmeleon.

I lifted the man off the ground and turned my back to the Fire-type as he breathed flames onto my attacker's back. He yelled out in pain and released me. He stumbled around the room and out onto the balcony only to be launched off by Honchkrow's Gust attack.

The first attacker then tackled me onto the bed from behind. He pulled out a knife and tried stabbing me, but I moved out of the blade's path and it plunged into the mattress. I kneed the man between his legs and pushed him off me. He rolled off the bed in front of Zorua and Haunter.

"Dark Pulse and Night Daze!" I called out.

The two fired off their Dark-type moves, propelling the man into the wall, and knocking him out.

The whole roof then collapsed over us as a third white-haired man dropped through. He landed on the bed and kicked me in the side of the head. I dropped on the ground and Charmander fired a Flamethrower at the man, but he ducked under it. The flames singed the wall. I slowly got to my feet as the man tackled me out of the room. We went over the side of the railing outside of the room and fell a whole story. He landed first and I landed next to him. My elbow clanged against the concrete ground and the pain shot down my whole arm.

I writhed in pain as my Pokémon all ran out of the room. Honchkrow carried Zorua and Cubone in his talons and Haunter carried Charmeleon. The man pulled out a black sphere and threw it down onto the ground, covering the whole area in thick smoke. Honchkrow used Gust to clear the smoke, but the man was already gone. I used my good arm to get to my feet and cradled my other arm. It hurt a lot, but wasn't broken.

"Is that other guy still there?" I asked.

"_I'll check_," Honchkrow said, flying back up to the room.

He came back and shook his head.

"_He's gone_," he said.

"Alright, Haunter, Honchkrow, mind grabbing my things. I'm going to the Pokémon Center to get my arm checked out," I said.

My two Pokémon nodded and flew off to retrieve my belongings. I then turned to walk down to the Pokémon Center with Charmeleon, Zorua, and Cubone flanking me.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter X**

Hilda was sitting on a sofa in the Pokémon Center's lounge, reading a book she found on the end table beside her when I walked in flanked by Charmeleon, Zorua, and Cubone.

"What are you… what happened?" Hilda asked me, getting to her feet.

"I got attacked by ninjas," I said.

Hilda's worried expression soon changed to an annoyed glare.

"God, why must you joke around?" Hilda asked, walking away.

"I'm not joking!" I snapped after her.

Hilda stopped and turned toward me.

"Wait, were you being serious? You only yell at me when you're being serious?" Hilda questioned.

"Yes I'm being serious!" I snapped angrily.

"Please don't yell, people are sleeping," Nurse Joy requested of us, coming out into the lobby.

"Sorry, I just fell from the second story walkway outside my motel room and landed on my elbow," I said.

Nurse Joy ran over to me and checked my arm.

"Oh, you've got a sprained elbow. We're going to have to wrap it up," she said.

"Good thing I'm left handed," I responded.

Hilda walked over as Nurse Joy sat me down on a chair and left to get some bandages to wrap my arm up.

"So what exactly happened?" she asked me.

"I got ambushed by three ninjas and one of them tackled me over the railing outside my motel room," I said.

"What did they look like after you were done with them?" Hilda asked me with a slight smile.

"Well one got blown off the balcony in the back of the motel by Honchkrow, the second guy got knocked out by Zorua and Haunter, and the third escaped after throwing a smoke pellet," I said.

"Is the second guy still knocked out?" Hilda asked.

"No, he was gone when Honchkrow flew up to check," I said.

"Where are Honchkrow and Haunter?" Hilda asked.

"Getting my stuff," I said.

On cue, the two Pokémon flew in with my belongings in hand, talon, and beak.

They dropped my things down beside me and took their positions with the rest of my Pokémon.

Nurse Joy returned and wrapped my arm up.

"I'm going to insist that you take it easy until your arm heals," she said.

"He doesn't know how to take it easy," Hilda said, putting her hands on her hips.

"Yes I do," I said.

"_No you don't_," all five of my Pokémon said in unison.

"_You're reckless_," Reshiram said.

I grumbled to myself and got to my feet.

"Nurse Joy, are there any cots left. I don't believe my motel room is safe for me," I said.

"Of course, there is one right next to your friend," Nurse Joy said.

"She's actually my girlfriend," I said.

Hilda smiled at me.

"My apologies," Nurse Joy responded.

"It's okay, you couldn't have known," I responded with a smile.

Nurse Joy nodded curtly and left Hilda and me in the lobby. Hilda then punched me in my good arm.

"Ow, what was that for?" I asked.

"I don't know, I just figured you deserved to be hit," Hilda said.

"I think I've been hit enough today. I've been electrocuted, hit, kicked, I've had chairs, ninja darts, and knives thrown at me, and I was tackled off a second story building," I said.

I got to my feet and walked over to my Pokémon.

"Thanks you guys, I could've been killed in there, but all of you had my back…," I thanked them all.

"_You'd do the same thing for us_," Charmeleon said.

I then remembered nearly dying after taking a spear through the stomach protecting Charmeleon. I ran out to a Pokémon that could've electrocuted me to death if he wanted to just to help him. I also tackled Charmeleon off the side of a cliff into a fall that could've killed us both. I am reckless.

"I need to slow down a bit," I said.

"What do you mean?" Hilda asked me, walking over.

"I have been reckless… I've nearly been killed twenty times since I've started this journey… I'm living life like I'm in a zombie apocalypse, I need to relax more…," I said.

"When do you plan on slowing down?" Hilda asked me.

"Right now," I said.

Suddenly the lights went out in the Pokémon Center. Luckily we had Charmeleon who lit up the area with his tail flame.

"What's going on?" Hilda asked, grabbing my hand.

"It must be a power outage," I said, moving toward the door.

"Where are you going?" Hilda asked me.

"I'm just going outside to see how much of a power outage it is," I said, walking outside with her still holding onto my hand.

It wasn't just the Pokémon Center or even the area; it was all of Castelia City.

"Wow, the whole city has gone dark," I said.

"Nero! Hilda!" I heard Bianca call out to us.

She ran toward us with Cheren close behind.

"The whole city has lost power," Cheren said.

"I wonder what caused it?" I questioned.

"What is that?" Hilda asked, pointing at a strange substance pushing out of a crack in the road.

She approached it and I was close behind. Hilda knelt down and poked the strange substance as it continued to push through the crack.

"It's so slimy," Hilda complained.

Suddenly the substance formed into an arm and grabbed Hilda's wrist. She screamed out and pulled away, stretching the slime a good three feet off the ground.

"Icicle, use Slash!" Spectra called out.

Her Pokémon ran over quickly and slashed through the slime, releasing Hilda.

I pulled out my Pokédex.

"Weavile, the Sharp Claw Pokémon. They communicate by clawing signs in boulders and work together to surround enemies," my Pokédex said.

Weavile is a bipedal, weasel-like Pokemon with a bluish black body and several feathery areas. It has a bright red crown and collar made of wide feathers, and a single, thinner feather on each ear. The ear feathers are smaller on a female Weavile. Weavile has two tail feathers and three claws on each paw. There is a yellow, oval marking in the center of its forehead. Its eyes are red with three eyelashes, and four fangs protrude from its upper jaw. Weavile is devious and intelligent. It usually lives in cold, icy areas where it forms small packs. A pack of Weavile uses teamwork to take down its prey. It can communicate in the form of carving patterns on trees, ice and boulders.

The slime still wrapped around Hilda's wrist slid off and plopped on the ground, but the slime in the ground continued to push through.

A manhole cover nearby suddenly launched up into the air and smashed through a window of a closed café. A large, growing mass of slime pushed out of the sewer beneath Castelia City. That's when I saw that this slime had faces.

I aimed my Pokédex at the growing masses of slime.

"Grimer, the Sludge Pokémon. Born from sludge, these Pokémon now gather in polluted places and increase the bacteria in their bodies. Muk, the Sludge Pokémon. It's so stinky! Muk's body contains toxic elements, and any plant will wilt when it passes by," my Pokédex said.

I then noticed an oh-so familiar device on the Grimer and Muk. It was a Team Plasma mind control device.

The slime that had slid off Hilda's wrist began to grow as it morphed into a Grimer.

I looked at Hilda and knew that I would have to break my previous promise.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter XI**

A Grimer fired a Sludge attack at us, but Charmeleon countered with a Flamethrower.

"Everyone, get back to the Pokémon Center now!" I shouted as Grimer and Muk began rising out from manholes, drains, and cracks in the streets.

Cheren and I pushed Hilda, Spectra, and Bianca forward as the whole street became overrun with Grimer and Muk. They moved as one colossal mass. Charmeleon stopped running just to fire a Flamethrower up into the horde, but it didn't do a thing.

"Don't fight it, just keep running!" I shouted.

We all ran into the Pokémon Center and the wave of Grimer and Muk crashed into the side of the building.

"What's going on?" Nurse Joy asked.

"We're being attacked by a horde of Grimer and Muk," I explained.

Nurse Joy suddenly pressed a button on the underside of the counter and an alarm went off throughout the Pokémon Center. Metal sheets dropped all over the windows and walls. The whole Pokémon Center was locked down.

"Let's go to the roof," Nurse Joy said.

We followed her up two flights of stairs and we all walked out onto the roof. We were almost completely boxed in by the large office buildings surrounding the Pokémon Center. I was the first to look out over the edge. There were Grimer and Muk slithering around the streets, firing their various attacks at cars and buildings.

"They must've been the cause of the power outage," I said.

"What's causing them to attack?" Nurse Joy asked.

"Team Plasma. They're a bunch of bad guys who want everyone to release their Pokémon to build up their own army and rule the world," I said, recalling what Reshiram had told me.

"That's awful," Nurse Joy said.

"Yeah, we've battled them before. We need to find the control devices, destroy them, and free the Grimer and Muk before they destroy the city," I said.

"Where would they be?" Bianca asked.

"The Grimer and the Muk came from the sewers. That'd be a great place to look," Cheren said.

"There, we got a plan. Now how are we supposed to get down there?" I questioned.

"We could flush you down the toilet," Spectra suggested.

"He's too big," Cheren responded.

"We could throw Cheren and Spectra down into the Grimer and Muk," I said.

"How's that supposed to help us get into the sewers?" Hilda asked.

"Oh yeah, the sewers," I responded.

"You'll have to get to the Castelia City Gym. The Gym Leader Burgh knows a secret entrance into the sewers and should be a big help to you guys," Nurse Joy said.

"How far is the Gym?" I asked.

"A couple of blocks," Nurse Joy responded.

"Well we can't take the streets, not with those Grimer and Muk," Bianca said.

"But we can go through the office buildings," I said.

"How do we do that?" Cheren asked.

"Like this, Charmeleon, use Dragon Rage on the window!" I shouted, pointing at the office window right next to the Pokémon Center.

Charmeleon fired a blue ball of draconic energy through the office building, shattering several windows, and providing an entrance.

"Ladies first," I said, bowing mockingly.

Hilda, Spectra, Icicle, and Bianca climbed into the office building.

"I'll stay here and protect Nurse Joy and everyone else in the Pokémon Center in case the Grimer and Muk get through," Cheren said.

"Alright, be careful," I said.

"I should be telling you the same thing," Cheren responded.

I ignored him and climbed into the office building. My Pokémon followed.

We walked through the office building past lines of cubicles.

"This is creepy," Hilda said.

"It doesn't help that there's a ghost following us," Bianca pointed out.

"_Oh, I'm going to scare you good_," Haunter growled, taking offense.

"Don't even think about it," I responded.

Hilda and Bianca looked at me strangely, but I just kept moving forward. We walked past a restroom and I stopped in my tracks as I heard a low rumbling come from inside the restroom.

"Spectra, remember how you suggested we flushed me down the toilet to get to the sewers?" I asked.

Spectra turned to me and opened her mouth to respond, but then noticed the restroom sign next to me, and heard the rumbling as well.

"Everyone get down!" I shouted as the line of toilets inside the restroom exploded.

The force of the explosion propelled me through a cubicle and I landed on top of a computer desk before rolling onto the floor. Pieces of porcelain littered the ground and water flooded into the office. I lost track of the girls and my Pokémon as Grimer and Muk poured into the office building.

"Shit!" I shouted, getting to my feet.

"Nero!" Hilda called out to me as a Muk plowed through several cubicles toward me.

Honchkrow flew in between us and fired a Dark Pulse into the Muk, but it absorbed the attack. It swung its arms out and sent Honchkrow into a wall.

"Icicle, use Ice Beam!" Spectra called out as the Muk descended on me.

Icicle fired bolts of ice into Muk, freezing the Poison-type solid.

"Go! Go!" I shouted, running over to where Honchkrow landed.

I returned him to his Pokéball and followed the girls and the rest of my Pokémon out of the office into a stairwell.

"Go up to the roof!" I shouted.

We ran up a few flights of stairs as the Grimer and Muk broke through the stairwell in pursuit of us.

"Damn, what's with these Pokémon!" I snapped.

"Team Plasma must've ordered them to attack people," Spectra deduced.

Bianca then tripped over a step and landed hard on the ground.

"Bianca!" I called out, running back to her.

"I think I sprained my ankle," she said, holding her ankle.

A Grimer appeared behind us and fired a Sludge attack, but Zorua responded with her Night Daze attack to defend us.

"Ice Ball, Icicle!" Spectra called out.

Icicle formed a massive ball of ice in between her claws and rolled it down the stairs. It bounced along the steps and collided with the pursuing Grimer and Muk.

I scooped Bianca up in my arms bridal style and carried her up the remaining steps.

We ran out onto the roof and stopped at the edge of the office building. It was a good ten foot gap between the office buildings and a good hundred foot drop to the ground.

We were trapped and the Grimer and Muk were coming fast.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter XII**

I could hear the Grimer and the Muk scaling the stairs toward us and we were going to be trapped between them and a hundred foot drop.

"Icicle could make an ice bridge to get us across," Spectra suggested.

"I don't think Bianca could make it with ankle hurt," I pointed out, looking at the blonde for confirmation.

Bianca tried putting pressure on her ankle, but cringed from the pain.

"Ooh, I can have Kirlia Teleport us all across," Hilda said.

"Good idea, hurry!" I snapped as the Grimer and Muk broke out onto the roof.

Hilda sent out Kirlia.

"Kirlia, use Teleport to get us all to that roof!" Hilda ordered, pointing at the roof of the building next to us.

"_I can't take all of you with me. I can only take five at a time_," Kirlia said.

"Take them and Cubone, the rest of us will hold off the Grimer and Muk until you can come back!" I snapped as more Grimer and Muk poured out onto the roof.

Kirlia teleported Hilda, Spectra, Icicle, Cubone, and herself over to the next roof.

"Charmeleon use Flamethrower! Zorua use Night Daze! Haunter use Dark Pulse!" I shouted.

Charmeleon exhaled a torrent of fire into the Grimer and Muk. Zorua became engulfed in purple fire and breathed out the violet flames onto the horde. Haunter formed a pulsating orb of dark energy and fired it into the horde as well. That gave Kirlia enough time to come back and Teleport us all onto the next roof.

I looked at Bianca and she was in a lot of pain from her ankle.

"Leave me… I'm just going to slow you down," she said.

"No, I'm not going to leave you," I said, scooping her up.

I carried her over to the stairs and Hilda, Spectra, and all our Pokémon followed.

We ran down a couple of flights of stairs before we could gain entrance to a parking garage next to the office building.

"We're almost there," I said, running toward another set of stairs that led to the streets.

"STOP!" three men yelled at us in unison.

I turned back and the three ninjas from before were staring at us.

"You guys again!?" I snapped.

"We cannot allow you to meddle with Team Plasma's plans anymore than you already have," one of the men said.

"So you work for Team Plasma, why did you attack me?" I asked angrily.

"Our leader gave us strict instruction to eliminate you. We are here to complete our mission," the second man said.

"Who are you guys?" Spectra asked, stepping forward.

"We are the Shadow Triad," the three men answered in unison.

"Hilda, help Bianca to somewhere safe, Charmeleon, Zorua, and Haunter will help you," I said.

"So will Icicle," Spectra said.

"Aren't you going?" I asked her.

"No, three on one isn't fair, three on two is a little fairer," Spectra said.

I nodded at her and our Pokémon led Hilda and Bianca down the stairs to safety.

Spectra and I faced off against the three members of the Shadow Triad.

"You will meddle with Team Plasma no more!" they all shouted in unison as they ran at us.

One of them jumped up into the air and kicked at me, but I caught him by his ankle, and threw the man to the ground. A second delivered several quick jabs into my back, causing me to drop to one knee. Spectra was having her hands full combating with the sole Shadow Triad, who was blocking each and every one of her pressure point jabs.

The first Shadow Triad then kicked me in the side of the face, causing me fall completely onto the ground of the parking garage.

"Nero!" Spectra called out, allowing her opponent to deliver pressure point jabs of his own to her gut.

She fell onto her side and looked directly at me.

"Spe… Spectra…," I groaned, reaching out to her.

One of the Shadow Triads stepped on my hand and another brought out a dagger. The third held my head back to reveal my neck and the second held the dagger to my throat.

"Now you die," they all said in unison.

"_I don't think so_," Reshiram spoke, causing all of the Shadow Triad to back away.

My sole blue eye began glowing like a sapphire flame and soon my other eye turned blue, glowing with the same intensity. My white streak began spreading and soon all of my hair was white.

My eyes glowed with even more intensity and soon blue flames burst out from my eyes. My whole body then began glowing and my dark blue motorcycle suit was replaced with a solid white coat with crimson bordering. My jeans were also replaced with white ones and my upper torso was bare aside from the coat.

"_**You will no longer menace me**_!" Reshiram and I shouted together in one voice.

Flames were produced in my palms and I shot a massive fireball forward.

The Shadow Triad dodged the attack, but I dashed forward, caught one of them by the back of his head, and slammed him headfirst through a car window. A second Shadow Triad jumped onto my back, but I twisted as he did so, and he slipped off, landing on the roof of the car. I jumped about ten feet into the air and slammed my forearm into the Shadow Triad's chest, crushing the car beneath him.

The third one who still had the dagger in his hand tried stabbing me, but I caught his wrist, twisted his arm behind his back, caused him to drop his knife, kicked his knees out from under him, and drove my palm into his throat, damaging his windpipe. He fell over onto his side and coughed violently as he struggled to breath. He crawled over to the car where the two other Shadow Triads lay unconscious and threw a smoke pellet onto the ground. Black smoke consumed them and they were gone by the time it had disappeared.

A white flash then consumed me and I fell to the ground in a heap. Spectra crawled over to me, still recovering from her pressure points being hit.

"Nero! Are you okay!?" she asked me.

I opened my eyes and looked at her.

"Yeah…," I responded, groaning as a sharp pain went through my head.

"That was incredible," she said.

"I know…," I said, slowly coming to my knees.

"Come on, we'll question this later, but we got another matter at hand," Spectra said, helping me to my feet.

We then ran toward the stairs to catch up with Hilda, Bianca, and our Pokémon.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter XIII**

Hilda, Bianca, and our Pokémon were waiting for us inside the Castelia City Gym. Hilda was growing frantic about how long Spectra and I were taking to catch up with them.

"Do you think they're okay?" Hilda asked Bianca.

"Come on Hilda, it's Nero we're talking about. He can take care of himself and from what you have told me about that Spectra girl, she can take care of herself too," Bianca tried reassuring as she sat down on a rock to rest her ankle.

"I hope you're right," Hilda muttered in response.

Spectra and I exited the parking garage and made a beeline to the Castelia City Gym which was still a block away. There were a lot of people out on the streets due to the blackout. The Grimer and Muk infestation hadn't gotten to this area quite yet.

"Everyone get back inside your homes and keep a Pokémon nearby!" I called out as I ran past.

Several people looked at me strangely, but then saw the Grimer and Muk swarm coming toward them. I could hear their screams of terror as Spectra and I got to the Castelia City Gym.

I ran into the lobby, which was decorated as a greenhouse of some sort, and rejoined Hilda, Bianca, and our Pokémon.

"Thank God you're okay!" Hilda cried out, engulfing me in a hug.

"I'm here… I'm here," I muttered.

We pulled apart and I approached Bianca.

"How's your ankle?" I asked her.

"A little better," she responded with a small smile.

I put my hand on her shoulder.

"I want you to stay here and rest your ankle," I said.

Bianca nodded. I turned and looked at Hilda.

"Is Burgh here?" I asked her.

"Not that we know of… The Gym was unlocked," Hilda responded.

"We need to find him. Guys, stay here and protect Bianca in case those Grimer and Muk come in," I said to my Pokémon.

Hilda, Spectra, and I walked into a deeper part of the Gym and found a massive tree in the center of the Gym. There were branches spiraling around the trunk and leading to an upper level.

"Come on, the stairs are this way," I said, heading for the tree.

Hilda walked beside me.

"How's your arm?" she asked.

Oh yeah, my elbow was sprained. I moved my injured arm and realized something funny about it. It didn't hurt anymore.

"A lot better actually… it doesn't even hurt anymore," I said.

"That's strange," Hilda pointed out.

"Yeah…," I responded.

"_You're welcome_," Reshiram told me.

"Reshiram healed me," I told Hilda.

The three of us scaled the tree and entered an upper level. There were sketchpads and canvases with various paintings and sketches.

"Well good evening young man and ladies," a soft voice greeted us.

We turned and a man with brown hair, green eyes, and wearing a low v-neck shirt with a white undershirt, red, black, and green striped pants, and green and red flats stood looking at us.

"Welcome to my studio strangers, why have you blessed me with your presences?" the man asked us.

"Are you Burgh, the Castelia City Gym Leader?" I asked.

"Yes I am, and you are?" Burgh responded.

"Nero Hishiro," I introduced myself.

"Hilda White," Hilda introduced herself.

"Spectra Flame," Spectra introduced herself.

"A pleasure to meet you all, now why are you here? Are you aware that it is late?" Burgh asked us.

"Aren't you aware of what's going on outside?" I asked.

"No, what happened?" Burgh asked, growing concerned.

"The whole city has gone dark and Grimer and Muk are attacking everything," I said.

"What?" Burgh questioned.

"We need your help. We know why the Grimer and Muk are attacking and we know how to stop them," I said.

"What do you need me to do?" Burgh asked.

"We need to get to the sewers. There are a bunch of people down there who put mind control devices on the Grimer and Muk," I explained.

"Let's go," Burgh said, walking toward the stairs.

We followed him down the stairs and he opened a hidden door in the ground that revealed even more stairs.

"I _really _hate stairs," Spectra grumbled as we walked beneath the city.

We then reached another door which Burgh opened.

"The Castelia Sewers," Burgh said.

We walked in and the stench was horrible.

"Oh God I think I'm going to vomit," Hilda groaned.

"Follow me, if anyone is down here. There is only one place where they could possibly be," Burgh said, leading us deep into the sewers.

We had been walking for ten minutes of absolute silence before I decided to speak up.

"Hey Spectra, where's N?" I asked her.

"Oh, he left. He said he had to go do something very important," Spectra responded.

"Do you know what that was?" I asked her.

"No," she responded, shaking her head.

I mulled that over a bit, but then turned my attention to something else.

"Hilda, why did you get pissed at me earlier?" I asked her.

Hilda briefly looked at me and sighed.

"I guess I got upset when you joked about us no longer being in a relationship… I know it's childish and you were just joking around, but it hurt a little," Hilda explained.

"I'm sorry," I apologized, putting my arm around her waist.

"It's okay. We're still good, right?" Hilda asked me.

"Of course we're still good," I responded.

"Oh give me a bucket so I can vomit," Spectra muttered.

"We're here," Burgh said, approaching another door.

He opened it and fresh air hit us like a wave of relief. It was a medium-sized park with a large tree in the center. Team Plasma grunts were there and were flanking Colress as he worked on some kind of machine.

"Our guests have arrived," Colress muttered, halting what he was doing to turn and look at us.

"Unwelcome guests, though, get rid of them," Colress ordered the Grunts.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter XIV**

Hilda and Spectra sent out Chikorita and Sparx respectively to battle the Grunts while Burgh and I headed toward Colress.

"What are you doing here, this place is tranquil, and shouldn't be fouled by people who take control over Pokémon," Burgh said to Colress.

"I am here just to study an interesting find I discovered," Colress said innocently.

"Then why take over the Grimer and Muk and set them out on the city?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"Oh that? That was just a necessary measure to keep prying eyes from my research. I see that it did not work, so I will deal with your intrusion personally, go Metagross!" Colress called out, throwing a Pokéball up in the air.

It opened up and a large Pokémon fell down onto the ground. I pulled out my Pokédex.

"Metagross, the Iron Leg Pokémon. With four linked brains, it's more intelligent than a supercomputer, and it uses calculations to analyze foes," my Pokédex said.

Metagross is a quadruped tank-like Pokémon. Its turquoise, discus shaped main body appear to be its head, as it lies at the center point where its legs branch out to give the impression of a mechanized arachnid. It has a metallic cross adorning its face formed by its tusks crossing diagonally between its two red eyes, in the shape of an X and cross, arranged to resemble both metallic eyebrows and a metallic mustache. Its high intelligence is very similar to a supercomputer. It can float in the air by tucking its four legs. It uses its body to pin down its prey and then eats it with its large mouth. It lives in rough terrains.

"Use Flash Cannon!" Colress called out.

Metagross opened its large maw and fired a silver ball of light at Burgh and I.

"_**I don't think so**_!" Reshiram and I called out in unison.

A white light consumed my form and I stepped out of it in my other form. I put my palm forward and caught the Flash Cannon. I could feel the energy pulsing through my entire body as I gripped the Steel-type attack like it was a basketball. I then launched it straight back into Metagross, sliding the Steel/Psychic-type Pokémon backward.

"Incredible…," Colress commented, looking at me.

"Nero?" Hilda questioned, seeing my new form.

"_**Leave this place now and never return or else**_!" Reshiram and I shouted.

"It's going to take a lot more than that to stop me, Metagross, use Hyper Beam!" Colress shouted.

Metagross levitated forward and fired the powerful attack at me. I responded by jumping over the attack and hovering in mid air.

"_**I have no choice but to defeat you then**_," Reshiram and I said.

I shot toward Metagross.

"Hammer Arm!" Colress shouted.

Metagross readied one of its four arms and swung it at me. I grabbed the attack and dug my feet into the ground. I then lifted Metagross off the ground and tossed him over myself. The Iron Leg Pokémon crashed onto the top of its massive head before flipping back over onto its legs.

I turned and looked at Colress as the flames in my eyes rose past the top of my head.

"_**I warned you**_," Reshiram and I said.

"Hyper Beam!" Colress called out.

Metagross fired its powerful attack at me from behind, but I simply caught it one-handed and palmed the attack.

"_**Coward…**_," Reshiram and I muttered hatefully.

Blue flames covered the Hyper Beam attack and I sent it straight back at Metagross, hitting it in the face, and knocking the Iron Leg Pokémon out.

Colress looked at me as I readied another blue flame for the Team Plasma scientist.

"_**You don't deserve to live…**_," Reshiram and I muttered as the fire grew more intense.

"Nero, no!" Hilda called out, running over to me.

"_**He is a cancer to the human race with his atrocious actions**_," Reshiram and I pointed out.

"But you don't have the right to dictate whether he is to live or die… this isn't you, Nero, you're not a murderer," Hilda pointed out.

"_**You can't stop me, Hilda White**_," Reshiram and I responded.

"Don't do this, because if you do, you will be just like Team Plasma if not worse!" Hilda snapped at me.

My eyes suddenly lost their fire and became their dual brown and blue color. The fire in my hand disappeared and my hair turned brown with a white streak again.

"You're right…," I muttered.

Colress then took his chance and thrust his electric prodder toward me, but I caught the weapon and snapped it in half over my knee. Colress stepped back and then pressed a button on his computer. The whole thing sparked and went dead.

"Abort!" he called into his radio.

Black smoke filled the area and Colress, Metagross, and the Team Plasma grunts disappeared.

"Hey guys, I found the control devices!" Spectra called out.

"Destroy it," I responded.

"Sparx, use Iron Tail!" Spectra called out.

Her white Pikachu jumped up into the air and sliced the control devices in half.

At the Pokémon Center, Cheren and Nurse Joy along with the other patrons were huddled together as the Grimer and Muk came down through the stairs. The control devices on them broke apart and freed them from Team Plasma's mind control.

Bianca was standing behind our Pokémon as they all fought to keep the Grimer and Muk at bay. The Team Plasma mind control devices broke apart and the Grimer and Muk were freed.

All of the Grimer and Muk blinked and made a hasty getaway back to the sewers.

Hilda, Spectra, Burgh, and I then left the Castelia Sewers and went back into the Castelia City Gym.

"What happened to you back there?" Hilda asked.

"I don't know… I did it before with the Shadow Triad," I muttered.

"_It's called your White Flare Form. With it, you gain a fraction of my power, but it enhances your human powers incomprehensibly_," Reshiram explained and I restated what he had said.

"That's incredible, you're like a superhero with that," Hilda said.

"_Yes, but if he was to be killed in this form, we both die_," Reshiram said and I restated.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter XV**

Later that night after everything had cooled down, Hilda and I went back to the Pokémon Center to rest for the night. Hilda was able to fall asleep, but I wasn't. I lay there on the cot and stared up at the ceiling.

I finally gave up trying to sleep and stood to my feet. I grabbed my coat and slipped on my boots. I walked out of the Pokémon Center and looked up at the full moon.

"_What is it that you want to ask_?" Reshiram asked me.

"What else are you going to do to me? First you make me look like a freak with a skunk stripe going down the middle of my hair and give me two different colored eyes, then you make me think I'm going absolutely crazy, hearing your voice in my head, and finally you turn I can fly, shoot fireballs, and catch a God damn Hyper Beam with one hand," I growled in annoyance.

"_I cannot say what else is going to happen… this is my first time doing this_," Reshiram revealed.

"So this whole thing is just a wait and see?" I asked.

"_Yes, it looks that way_," Reshiram said.

The next morning, I walked out of the Pokémon Center with Hilda by my side. I didn't sleep one bit last night and everything that has happened recently was starting to take its toll on me.

"Are you sure you're able to challenge Burgh today?" Hilda asked me.

"Yeah, I'm perfectly fine," I said after a yawn.

We walked into the Castelia City Gym and Burgh was waiting for us.

"Hello my friend, Nero Hishiro; are you ready for our Gym Battle?" Burgh asked me.

"As I'll ever be," I said.

"Good, let's get it under way then," Burgh said, readying a Pokéball.

A robotic referee appeared.

"This will be a four-on-four Pokémon battle between the Castelia City Gym Leader, Burgh, and the challenger Nero Hishiro from Nuvema Town will now commence!" the referee announced.

"Go Vespiquen!" Burgh called out his first Pokémon.

Hilda aimed her Pokédex at Vespiquen.

"Vespiquen, the Beehive Pokémon. It houses its colony in cells in its body and releases various pheromones to make those grubs do its bidding," her Pokédex said.

Vespiquen are bee-like Pokémon with yellow and black striped abdomen resembling an elegant ballroom gown. On the underside of the expansive abdomen are honeycomb-like cells that serve as a nest for baby Combee. It does appear, however, that they have a slender, more insect-like abdomen in the centermost cell, which is inconspicuous as the 'dress' usually obstructs the view of it. Vespiquen have black, skinny arms with two orange claws and fly with a pair of relatively small wings on their backs. Their yellow upper bodies are a nearly perfect sphere and their waists are black and slender. A curved line on their back between their shoulders separates their thorax and waist. Vespiquen's orange faces have intimidating, red eyes, oversized, yellow, protruding mandibles, and a red gem on their forehead that has grown significantly since being a Combee. The top portion of the head is similar to a headpiece of sorts with yellow and black horn-like projections, resembling a hairstyle historically favored by early medieval-period English queens.

"Go Honchkrow!" I called out.

"Hmm, a Flying-type. Good choice, but type advantages won't help you, Vespiquen, use Power Gem," Burgh ordered.

The red gem on Vespiquen's forehead glowed white and shot a glowing orb at Honchkrow.

"Dodge it and use Sky Attack!" I called out.

Honchkrow spun around the Power Gem attack and began glowing white.

"Defend Order!" Burgh countered.

Glowing orbs appeared around Vespiquen and hit Honchkrow, causing him to not be able to complete his attack.

"Use Dark Pulse!" I called out.

Honchkrow fired a pulse of dark energy, hitting Vespiquen, but only doing minimal damage due to Dark-type attacks being weak to Bug-types.

"Attack Order!" Burgh called out.

Glowing orbs appeared around Vespiquen again and shot off into Honchkrow, knocking him to the ground.

"Now use Power Gem," Burgh said.

Vespiquen fired the glowing orb into Honchkrow, dealing massive damage to him.

"Shadow Ball, now!" I called out.

Honchkrow responded by firing an orb of ghostly energy into Vespiquen.

"Finish it with Aerial Ace," I responded.

Honchkrow flew into Vespiquen and knocked her out.

"Vespiquen is unable to battle," the referee announced.

Burgh returned Vespiquen to her Pokéball.

"Honchkrow's new moves have definitely paid off. You two were up last night training as was I," Burgh revealed.

I nodded and he brought out his next Pokémon.

Hilda aimed her Pokédex at it.

"Crustle, the Stone Home Pokémon. When its boulder is broken in battles for territory, it feels unsure and begins to weaken," her Pokédex said.

Crustle is an orange Pokémon resembling an insect or crustacean. Its most distinguishing feature is its enormous shell, which resembles a cut-away block of sediment with multiple layers and strata visible. The tips of its pincers and six feet are dark gray. It has two glaring yellow eyes. Crustle possesses a straight tail that is concealed underneath its shell. It is very strong, to the point that it can carry heavy rocks for a long time, even through arid lands where it resides. It fights members of its species over territory in battles which can become very vicious. If its shell breaks during such a fight, it loses.

"Honchkrow, use Shadow Ball!" I call out.

"Stone Edge!" Burgh responded.

Honchkrow fired the ball of ghostly energy at Crustle, but Crustle fired pointed stones at Honchkrow. They broke through the Shadow Ball and hit Honchkrow, knocking him out.

"Honchkrow is unable to battle," the referee announced.

I returned him to his Pokéball and yawned. Lack of sleep was really starting to get to me.

"You okay, Nero?" Burgh asked.

"Yeah… just peachy," I responded.

I sent out Haunter.

"Crustle, use Stone Edge!" Burgh called out.

Crustle sent the jagged stones toward Haunter.

"Dodge it," I responded.

Haunter dodged around the stones, laughing the entire way.

"Shadow Punch," I ordered.

Both of Haunter's disembodied hands glowed a shadowy black before launching off toward Crustle, hitting it. The Bug/Rock-type skidded back, but held strong.

"Finish this with Rock Wrecker!" Burgh called out.

Crustle formed a massive rock with a red aura around it between its claws and fired it off into Haunter knocking her out with one hit.

"Haunter is unable to battle!" the referee announced.

I returned her to her Pokéball.

"Nero, you aren't yourself. I hope you collect yourself so I can truly battle you," Burgh said.

I growled in annoyance and sent out Cubone.

"Bonemerang!" I called out.

Cubone tossed his bone, hitting Crustle hard, and knocking the large Pokémon onto its side.

"Finish it with Rage!" I roared.

Cubone ran forward and began mercilessly hitting Crustle with his bone until he was knocked out.

"Crustle is unable to battle!" the referee announced.

"That is much better," Burgh said, returning Crustle to its Pokéball.

I then recalled Cubone and brought out Charmeleon. Burgh brought out his third Pokémon and Hilda aimed her Pokédex.

"Escavalier, the Cavalry Pokémon. Wearing the shell covering they stole from Shelmet, they defend themselves and attack with two lances," her Pokédex said.

Escavalier's head sports a feature quite resembling the red horsehair crest of a knight's helmet, with a visor underneath it. The shoulders of Escavalier have large, round metal ridges, from which its thin black arms extend. The arms are tipped with red-striped jousting-lance like protrusions. Escavalier's face and torso are bare of armor, but its lower body is concealed within a swirled gray shell with a red spike on the underside, which is presumably the shell of a Shelmet.

"Charmeleon, use Flamethrower!" I called out.

Charmeleon exhaled a torrent of flame at Escavalier.

"Double Team!" Burgh called out.

Escavalier made copies of itself and the Flamethrower dissipated some of the fakes.

"Spread the flames!" I called out.

Charmeleon turned and spread the flames through all of the copies, finding the real one, and knocking it out with one ultra effective move.

"Escavalier is unable to battle!" the Pokédex said.

"Wow, so much strength," Burgh commented, returning Escavalier to its Pokéball.

Burgh then sent out his final Pokémon and Hilda yet again aimed her Pokédex at it.

"Leavanny, the Nurturing Pokémon. Upon finding a small Pokémon, it weaves clothing for it from leaves by using the sticky silk secreted from its mouth," her Pokédex said.

Leavanny is a thin, yellow, bipedal insectoid Pokémon. It has a broad, split leaf around its large, round head and it has long antennae that end in semicircles. Its eyes are red with no apparent sclera. Its tiny thorax is dark green, and its long abdomen is yellow and covered in a green leaf. Its hands are long and leaf-like with a "bite" taken out of each. Its upper arms are also leaf-like, but with a vein of yellow at the top. Its thin legs are yellow with dark green, thick segments around its upper legs, making them appear armored.

Leavanny lives in forests. It is very parental and uses its cutters and a sticky silk it produces to create clothing made of leaves for small Pokémon. It also warms its eggs with fermenting fallen leaves.

"Charmeleon, use Dragon Claw!" I called out.

"Leaf Blade, Leavanny!" Burgh responded.

Charmeleon's claws glowed blue with draconic energy as Leavanny's hands glowed green. Both charged one another and delivered blows.

"Flamethrower!" I called out.

"Muzzle him with String Shot!" Burgh responded.

Charmeleon prepared to use Flamethrower, but Leavanny covered his mouth with webbing, preventing him from doing so.

"Now use Energy Ball!" Burgh responded.

Leavanny fired an orb of green energy into Charmeleon, knocking him into a tree.

"Now use X-Scissor!" Burgh ordered.

Leavanny's hands glowed red and she charged in with a glowing X in front of her, hitting Charmeleon.

"Free your jaws with Dragon Claw!" I called out.

Charmeleon swiped his claw up through the strands of the String Shot, cutting himself free.

"Now use Dragon Rage!" I called out.

"Energy Ball!" Burgh countered.

Both attacks exploded upon contact, covering the area with smoke.

"Now end this with Flamethrower!" I shouted.

Flames burst through the smoke and hit Leavanny, knocking into another tree, and knocked her out.

"Leavanny is unable to battle! The winner of the match is Nero Hishiro!" the referee announced.

"Good job Charmeleon!" I called out, running over to hug him.

"_No hugs_," he warned, readying a Dragon Claw.

I laughed it off and turned as Burgh approached me.

"Congratulations Nero Hishiro, you have won yourself an Insect Badge," Burgh said, handing over a Badge that looked like it was shaped like a green heart divided into three parts or the wings and body of an insect.

I took the badge and put it into my badge case.

"Thank you," I said to Burgh, nodding.

I then began heading out of the Gym.

"Where are you going?" Hilda asked.

"Back to the Pokémon Center to get some sleep," I said, leaving the Gym.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter XVI**

After an eight hour nap, Hilda and I gathered our things and made a quick getaway toward Route 4.

"Alright, I want to get to Nimbasa City as quick as possible," I said.

"Likewise," I said.

We rode out onto Route 4 on my motorcycle. It was a massive desert with large dunes of sand and construction workers working on some kind of structure. That's when I saw Cheren and Bianca waiting for us.

"Oh come on!" I snapped, waving my fist at my childhood friends.

"Aww, did we interrupt your "quick" ride to Nimbasa City?" Cheren asked.

"Go fuck yourself," I responded.

"No, we're here to challenge you and Hilda to a double battle. Consider it couple against couple," Cheren said.

It took me a moment to process what Cheren said. He just insinuated that he and Bianca were now a couple and he wasn't currently ripping out his own throat like he normally does when he makes a mistake.

"You two hooked up!?" Hilda called out ecstatically.

"Took you long enough," Cheren said.

"Shut up! You have to make such simple things into a test!" I snapped.

"Yikes, someone's grumpy," Bianca pointed out as Hilda ran over to her.

"Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! How did you two hook up?" Hilda asked.

"I'm going to kill myself now," I muttered, walking up to the three of them.

"Cheren asked me out after the whole Grimer and Muk debacle," Bianca explained.

"You sly dog you," Hilda snickered, poking Cheren's chest.

"Can't we just get this battle under way?" Cheren asked, growing tired.

"Alright, let's go!" Bianca shouted, throwing her hands up into the air.

We found a flat, sandy area and Hilda and I stood one side and Cheren and Bianca stood on the other.

"Let's just use one Pokémon each," Cheren said, readying his Pokéball.

"Go Zorua!" I called out, sending her out.

Hilda looked at me, wondering about my choice to not choose Charmeleon.

"I haven't battled with her recently," I said.

"Go Nidorino!" Hilda called out.

Her Pokémon which she obtained after his previous Trainer, Alex, abandoned him appeared next to Zorua.

I immediately got a bad feeling about this. I knew Nidorino still held some animosity toward Zorua for defeating him and leading to Alex releasing him.

"Hilda… is this such a good idea?" I whispered to her.

"What? I hardly battled with him," Hilda pointed out.

"Go Dewott!" Bianca called out, sending out her Pokémon.

I readied my Pokédex.

"Dewott, the Discipline Pokémon. As a result of strict training, each Dewott learns different forms for using the scalchops," my Pokédex said.

Dewott is a bipedal, otter-like Pokémon that is primarily light blue. It has small black ears, a pointed crest at the back of its head, a red nose, and long white whiskers forming tilted V-shapes. Its forelimbs have three fingers on each black paw. Around its waist is a large, dark blue, fringed arrangement of fur, with two scalchops on the thighs. These scalchops are detachable, and Dewott trains to use several techniques with them. Its feet and flat tail are black.

"Go Servine!" Cheren called out.

"Hmm… pretty even," I muttered.

"Nidorino, use Poison Jab on Servine!" Hilda called out, shocking me.

Nidorino's horn glowed purple and he charged forward.

"Deflect it with Razor Shell!" Bianca countered.

Dewott jumped in between the two with both of his scalchops out and twin blades made out of water energy slid out. Dewott sliced at Nidorino, knocking the Poison-type back.

"Servine, now use Leaf Blade," Cheren responded calmly.

Servine ran in on his tiny feet and spun around, hitting Zorua across the face with his tail. Zorua collided into Nidorino's side, knocking him over.

"_Watch it_," Nidorino growled.

"Zorua, use Night Daze!" I called out.

Zorua became engulfed in violet flames.

"Dewott use Water Pulse to stop her!" Bianca called out.

"Nidorino, protect Zorua with Take Down!" Hilda responded.

"Vine Whip, Servine," Cheren said calmly.

Dewott formed a ball of water energy and fired it, but Nidorino charged straight through it and toward Dewott, but Servine wrapped his vines around Nidorino and directed him to charge into Zorua, knocking both of them to the ground.

"_You watch it_!" Zorua snapped.

"Zorua, use Fury Swipes!" I called out.

Zorua bounded over to Servine and slashed the Grass-type in his face with her claws, dealing some damage.

"Water Pulse, Dewott!" Bianca called out.

Dewott formed the ball of water energy and fired it at Zorua from her right side.

"Nidorino, use Poison Sting to protect Zorua!" Hilda called out.

"_No_," Nidorino growled.

The Water Pulse swallowed Zorua and pulses hit her from within before the entire ball of water collapsed, sending her to the ground. She wobbled as she got to her feet, dazed from the attack.

"Zorua!" I called out.

"_I'm… I'm okay_," she growled through gritted teeth.

"Use Pursuit!" I called out.

Zorua tried firing the purple ball of energy, but she wobbled and instead fired it at Nidorino. The attack hit him and took him by surprise.

"_Hey, what was that for_!" Nidorino snapped.

"_I'm… I'm sorry_," Zorua responded, still trying to fight her confused state.

"_I'll show you_," Nidorino growled, charging into Zorua with a Poison Jab attack.

Zorua skidded across the ground and lay there.

"Zorua!" I called out, running over to her.

Nidorino wasn't done. All of his pent up hatred toward Zorua and possibly myself came unloose. He clawed at the ground and stared at both of us.

"_I'll show you all not to cross me_!" he roared charging.

"Nidorino, no!" Hilda called out, but he wouldn't listen.

I stood between Zorua and Nidorino as he continued to charge. I closed my eyes and a white light came over me. I then opened my eyes and blue fire erupted from them as I changed to my White Flare Form. Nidorino became so intimidated by my new form he skidded to a stop and sat there at my feet.

"_**What happened to you, Nidorino is neither mine nor Zorua's responsibility, your blame and your hatred should be directed at the Trainer who's choice it was to abandon you**_," Reshiram and I spoke.

Nidorino stared up at me in awe and then nodded.

"_I'm… I'm sorry_," Nidorino apologized, looking away.

"_**I accept your apology Nidorino**_," Reshiram and I said.

I then changed out of my White Flare Form and turned to Cheren and Bianca.

"Zorua's hurt, we need to get her to someplace to heal her. This battle is over," I said with my most serious tone of voice.

I scooped up Zorua in my arms and rushed through the desert toward a house with a sign outside that said "Heal Your Pokémon Here".


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter XVII**

I sat on a chair as a woman took Zorua into a back room to be healed. That's when Hilda, Cheren, and Bianca came in.

"Is she okay?" Hilda asked, being the most concerned.

It was her Pokémon that injured Zorua.

"She's fine, just a bit beaten up… She's tough," I said reassuring us both.

The woman came back out. She had long, black hair that framed her face nicely and brown eyes. She was wearing a white tank top, some camouflage shorts, and hiking boots.

"What's up?" I asked her, getting to my feet.

"Your Zorua is stable and is resting," the woman explained.

"Thank you, Ms…," I responded, pausing since I didn't know her name.

"It's Rebecca," the woman introduced herself.

"Nero Hishiro," I introduced myself.

"Hilda White," Hilda introduced herself.

"Cheren Black," Cheren introduced himself.

"Bianca Belle," Bianca introduced herself.

"Is it okay if I go wait for Zorua to wake up?" I asked Rebecca.

"Of course, go right on in," Rebecca said, holding the door open for me.

"Thanks," I said as I passed by her.

Zorua was laying on a bed on her side with a blanket over her. Her breathing was steady.

I sat down next to her and put my hand on the bed next to one of her front paws.

"You're tough Zorua," I muttered under my breath.

Outside in the front room, Hilda sat down on the chair I had previously sat on and rested her face in the palms of her hands.

"Ugh…," she groaned.

"What's wrong Hilda?" Bianca asked, kneeling beside her.

"Nothing… just I hardly even battle with my Pokémon let alone spend time with them… That's probably why Nidorino disobeyed me… I feel like such a horrible person right now," Hilda responded.

"You're not a horrible person, Hilda, and if you want to spend some time with your Pokémon, why not do so right now while the journey is on hold?" Bianca asked.

"Bianca… you're right," Hilda said, standing to her feet.

She pulled out her three Pokéballs and brought out Chikorita, Kirlia, and Nidorino.

"Come on guys, it's time to have a team meeting," Hilda said.

The four of them walked outside together and Hilda stood in front of all three of her Pokémon.

"Listen guys… I know I haven't been the best Trainer and have been spending a good amount of time together with you guys… I'm sorry," Hilda apologized.

Chikorita ran over to Hilda and nuzzled her calf.

"I wish I could understand you three like Nero does…," Hilda muttered.

Kirlia approached Hilda and put her hand on her Trainers. Nidorino then walked forward and pressed his head against her leg, careful not to stab her with his poisonous horn.

"Thanks you guys… I believe you're all telling me it's okay," Hilda said, kneeling down to be at her Pokémon's level.

Something moving across the desert sand caught Hilda's attention.

"Ooh, what's that Pokémon?" she asked herself, standing up straight, and aiming her Pokédex at it.

"Scraggy, the Shedding Pokémon. Proud of its sturdy skull, it suddenly head butts everything, but its weight makes it unstable, too," her Pokédex said.

Scraggy is a bipedal, lizard-like Pokémon. Its oval eyes are set to the sides of its head, and its teeth appear to be constantly exposed. There is a small red scale on its yellow head. Below the yellow portion of its head, its body is cream-colored with thin arms and a red, scaly belly. It carries its loose, yellow skin around its legs, resembling trousers. Some of the loose skin seems to trail off to form or cover a tail. This pelt is rubbery and can be raised to its neck in order to reduce the damage it takes from attacks. Scraggy is easily engaged in battle, as it will attack any foe that so much as meets its gaze with its thick cranium.

Scraggy stopped moving and turned to face Hilda and her Pokémon. It tilted its head and cautiously approached them.

"Aww, how cute," Hilda gushed as Scraggy stared at Chikorita.

Suddenly Scraggy leaned back and used Headbutt on Chikorita, taking the Grass-type by surprise. Chikorita growled, glaring at Scraggy. She then whipped the leaf on her head forward, using Razor Leaf on Scraggy. Scraggy lifted up its loose skin to block the Razor Leaf attack and made an antagonizing face at Chikorita, angering her even more.

"Alright, Chikorita, let's get Scraggy. Use Vine Whip!" Hilda called out, pointing forward.

Chikorita lashed out with her vines, but Scraggy dipped and ducked past him, running forward for another Headbutt. Chikorita dug deep and kept standing. She then began glowing.

"No way!" Hilda cried out, readying her Pokédex as Chikorita evolved.

"Bayleef, the Leaf Pokémon. The buds that ring its neck give off a spicy aroma that perks people up," her Pokédex said.

Bayleef resembles a pale yellow sauropod dinosaur or a lizard. A large leaf shaped like a scythe protrudes from its head. It has red eyes, and has one large toenail on each of its four feet. It also has a small tail. It has curled leaf-like growths, stated to be buds with small tree shoots inside, sprouting in a ring around its neck. The aroma wafting from the leaf-like growths around its neck has a spicy scent, and all nearby people or Pokémon who inhale it become excited and want to fight. Bayleef can be rarely found in grasslands among other Bayleef and its evolutions.

"Wow… you got big!" Hilda remarked, causing Bayleef to sweat drop, obviously perturbed by Hilda mentioning her weight.

Bayleef; however, shook the comment off and charged at Scraggy, jumping up into the air. She came down on top of the Shedding Pokémon, crushing it beneath her weight.

"That was Body Slam!" Hilda realized as Bayleef stood off of Scraggy.

Hilda then brought out an empty Pokéball and threw it at Scraggy. It engulfed the Dark/Fighting-type Pokémon in the white light and after a bit of shaking, spit sparks out to signify that Hilda had just caught Scraggy.

Hilda ran over and picked up her newly caught Pokémon.

"Alright, I caught a Scraggy!" she shouted, lifting Scraggy's Pokéball up into the air triumphantly.

Back inside, I was still sitting beside Zorua as she rested.

"_Nero…_," she muttered weakly.

"Zorua! Are you okay?" I asked her.

"Yeah… just a bit sore, but remember… I'm tough," Zorua said, smiling at me.

I smiled back and took a moment to let out a sigh of relief.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter XVIII**

Cheren and Bianca left for Nimbasa City a little later, but Hilda and I stayed at Rebecca's to let Zorua rest a bit more. Rebecca was kind enough to let us do so and let us sleep in her guest room which was beside the room where Zorua was resting. Hilda ran back to retrieve my motorcycle and parked it outside Rebecca's house.

It was nighttime and Hilda, Rebecca, and I were sitting out in her backyard around a fire pit. Hilda and I were looking up at the night sky. With the lack of city lights, the stars could especially be seen.

"It's beautiful out here," Hilda said, scooting closer against me, and resting her head on my shoulder.

"Yeah, it was so quiet until those construction crews came here," Rebecca admitted.

"What are they building?" I asked.

"A shopping center called Join Avenue," Rebecca responded bitterly.

"You don't sound like you like the idea of it," Hilda pointed out.

"I don't. It's been disrupting the Pokémon's way of life and causing some of them to think my home is their new home, but I guess I can just tolerate it," Rebecca responded.

It was then that I felt something hit me from below, causing me to get to my feet. I looked down and saw a hole.

"What was that?" I questioned, looking down the hole.

"Nero, don't!" Rebecca called out a warning.

Too late. A Pokémon jumped out of the hole and latched its jaws around my head.

"Ow! Get it off! Get it off!" I shouted, flailing about as the Pokémon held on tightly.

Rebecca got to her feet and rushed over to help me, but Hilda, my _girlfriend_ Hilda, just watched and laughed at my expense.

Rebecca grabbed the Pokémon by its hindquarters and pulled it off my head. I glared at the Pokémon and pulled out my Pokédex.

"Sandile, the Desert Croc Pokémon. They live hidden under hot desert sands in order to keep their body temperature from dropping," my Pokédex said.

Sandile is a short, quadruped with a long snout and tail. Its body is mostly light brown with the exception of black stripes crossing over and under its legs and its pink underbelly. It has a black stripe on its snout in front of its eyes, and black covering the tip of its tail. Its eyes resemble binoculars and are shrouded in black all around their front. The black is a membrane that helps Sandile see in the harsh desert sun. Its long snout is tipped by two protruding nostrils, and its mouth comprises the bottom half. Its feet are flat and contain three sharp, black claws. They are attached to stubby legs on its sides.

Sandile is only found in deserts. It usually burrows under the surface, with only its nose and eyes above the sand. Due to being so close to the surface, it can move around the desert and allow the heat of the sand to regulate its body temperature.

"_You taste delicious_," Sandile said.

"Yeah, you will probably taste like chicken," I responded.

"Wait, you're understanding what he's saying?" Rebecca asked me.

"Yeah, are you?" I asked her.

"Yeah!" Rebecca exclaimed.

"_Yay you two can understand me, now can you let me go_?" Sandile asked.

"Nope, it's time to catch you," I said, bringing out a Pokéball.

"_Yikes_!" Sandile yelped, jumping back into his hole.

I brought out Charmeleon.

"Charmeleon, use Flamethrower into that hole," I ordered.

Charmeleon walked over and exhaled a stream of fire into the hole. Several flares erupted around Rebecca's backyard and then Sandile flew out, landing on his back at my feet. I then caught the Desert Croc Pokémon.

"Sorry about the mess," I apologized to Rebecca.

"It's okay, you're very impressive, Nero," Rebecca said, moving closer to me.

That advance made Hilda uncomfortable and she moved her way between us.

"Come on Nero, I think we should get some sleep," Hilda said, dragging me away from Rebecca.

Later that night, Hilda and I lay in bed together. She was asleep, laying on her side, but I was awake as usual. Then a soft knock came at my door and I quietly got up and walked over to open it.

Rebecca stood on the other side of the door, looking at me almost predatorily.

"Yes?" I asked her in a whisper.

"I want you Nero," Rebecca said, pushing through the door.

I then realized she was wearing some scandalous lingerie.

"Wait, I have a girlfriend, and she's sleeping right there," I said, pointing at Hilda.

"She can join us if you wake her up," Rebecca said, putting her hands on my shoulders.

I looked down into her brown eyes as she backed me up into the bed, sitting me down on the end of it. She straddled my lap and kissed me passionately.

It felt so wrong; another woman kissing me, but it felt so right. Hilda then woke up at the commotion on the bed and looked at us.

"Hilda…," I tried responding, but she interrupted me.

"Wow… you two tried starting without me," Hilda accused.

"I tried asking him to wake you," Rebecca said.

"What's going on?" I questioned.

Hilda got to her knees and moved over to us and Rebecca also went to her knees on the bed in front of Hilda. I was between the two of them, looking up at the two beautiful young ladies as they locked lips.

They mewed into each others' mouths, running a hand through their hair, and wrapped the other around their waists.

The two of them then shoved their tongues into the other's mouth, wrestling for dominance. Hilda won that battle and gained dominance by pushing Rebecca onto her back. She straddled the other woman's lap and slid her hand down beneath her panties. Rebecca moaned pleasurably and Hilda dragged me over to them.

She lay me on my back and pulled down my pajama pants. A cold chill rolled up my lower body as I lay there exposed to the two girls.

Hilda wasted no time to begin performing oral sex on me, but Rebecca grabbed my girlfriend by her hair and pulled her off me. The two stared at each other and began making out again. They then began stripping each other and soon enough we were all naked on the same bed. Rebecca then pulled away from kissing Hilda and went to perform oral sex on me. Hilda grabbed Rebecca by the back of her hair, but instead of pulling her completely off me, she instead pushed her down to my waist, putting my full length into her mouth and then pulled her up my length by her hair. She did this continuously.

"Oh God if I'm dreaming don't wake me up," I moaned.

I was in fact dreaming and to make matters worse Hilda was watching me sleep.

"Oh Rebecca!" I moaned out in my sleep.

Hilda's eyes widened and she stared at me as I groaned in pleasure and smiled in my sleep.

She then turned over onto her side away from me feeling both hurt and angry.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter XIX**

The next morning, Hilda and I were ready to resume our journey to Nimbasa City.

"It was nice meeting you," Rebecca said to us, though I had the feeling she was directing it more towards me.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Rebecca," I responded, putting my helmet over my head and driving off with a silent Hilda having her arms wrapped around my waist.

In about an hour's ride, we arrived in Nimbasa City. The whole city was lit up with dazzling lights and boasted several attractions.

"Wow… I muttered, taking my helmet off.

I looked to my right and there was an amusement park that looked tons of fun.

"Hey Hilda," I said.

"What?" she asked me sharply.

"I was just going to ask if you wanted to go have some fun for today, is everything okay?" I asked her.

She took a second to make a collected sigh.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said.

"Alright… want to go the amusement park?" I asked her.

"Sure," she responded.

I parked my motorcycle outside of the Pokémon Center and we both took this chance to heal our Pokémon to their fullest. After that, we brought out all ten of our Pokémon.

"Guess what guys, today is a day of fun and relaxation!" I said, showing them the amusement park.

Their collective cheers were enough for me to know they liked this idea. We all ran into the amusement park together.

"Charmeleon, Zorua, and Bayleef are in charge, you listen to them. Hilda and I want to go have some fun with just each other," I said.

Our Pokémon agreed and ran off to enjoy themselves.

I smiled at Hilda and nodded toward some of the arcade games.

"Ready, Ms. White?" I asked her, sitting down on one of the stools for an arcade game.

"Sure," Hilda responded, sitting down next to me.

The game clerk readied our game and rang a bell for us to start. The point of the game was to fire a water gun at a fake Qwilfish and make it inflate like a balloon.

Qwilfish is a sea dwelling Pokémon with a spherical body and a flat, paddle-shaped tail. The upper-half of its body is dark teal and the lower half is very light yellow. Its tail is tall and thin with a dark teal outline, light yellow inside, and two dark teal dots in the center. Its eyes are even with its body, and are always seen slanted angrily. Below its eyes are its puffy pink lips. All around its body are sharp, conical spikes, which evolved from scales over time. In order to attack, Qwilfish drinks 2.6 gallons of water to inflate its body. It then uses the water pressure to shoot poisonous quills at its foe. Due to its round body, Qwilfish is not a great swimmer, and when filled with water it is even harder for it to swim.

Hilda and I fired our water guns into our respective Qwilfish's mouths and caused them to inflate. Mine reached the maximum and the Qwilfish lifted up and spewed the water inside like a fountain.

"Here you go, friend, give it to your girl," the game clerk suggested, handing me a giant Lillipup stuffed animal.

"Here you go, Hilda," I said, handing her the giant stuffed animal.

"Thanks," she muttered, walking away.

"Alright, tell me what the hell is going on," I demanded, following her.

She turned on me and threw the Lillipup stuffed animal at my head. For plush and fake fur, the massiveness of the thing caused it to knock me back a bit. It fell to the ground and lay there looking up at me.

"Just leave me alone!" she snapped.

"What has gotten into you?" I asked her.

"It's more like what have you gotten into! I saw how you were with Rebecca, you wanted her, and you thirsted for her! Well, you can have her, because we're done!" Hilda snapped, grabbing the attention from some bystanders.

She then stormed off and left me there, confused.

Elsewhere, our Pokémon were riding the amusement park's rollercoaster. Cubone was the only one who didn't like it.

Later that day, Hilda had found her Pokémon, returned them to their Pokéballs, and left.

I was sitting at a picnic table with the stuffed Lillipup still looking at me. All six of my Pokémon came to find me.

"_What's wrong with Hilda_?" Zorua asked, jumping onto the wooden seat next to me.

"I don't know…," I muttered.

"_Is everything okay_?" Zorua asked.

"I don't think so…," I muttered.

"_Nero, talk to us_," Zorua said.

"I don't feel like talking, I'm sorry," I responded, returning all of them to their Pokéballs.

I saw a passing child with his mother and held the giant Lillipup under my arm. I walked over to them.

"Excuse me," I said, gaining their attention.

I put on a fake smile and handed the giant stuffed animal to the child.

"For you," I said.

"Thanks mister!" the child responded, beaming a bright smile.

I got a smile from the mother and I just nodded before leaving.

I walked around the amusement park, not knowing where to go or what to do, and ended up in the midst of a large crowd lining up around a stage that had a catwalk extend out into the middle of the audience.

"What's going on?" I asked a woman next to me.

"The world famous supermodel Elesa is going to showing off her spring fashion line," the woman said.

"Great…," I muttered, turning away.

All I needed to see was some starving supermodel show herself off in some whorish attire to a bunch of easily-impressed women. I tried to get out of the crowd, but it was so large, I got held in place next to the catwalk.

The whole area went dark for a moment before being illuminated by several spotlights on the stage and catwalk.

I watched uninterested as a MC introduced Elesa to the crowd. Then a beautiful woman with short blonde hair wearing a light golden dress that flowed by her knees walked by. The dress seemed to spark like live wires in the spotlight. The woman turned and walked away, leaving the crowd in awe.

She wasn't what I had originally pictured. She was slender, yes, but nowhere near the starving woman image I had previously thought of.

Elesa came out in another outfit, this time a black shirt tucked into a pair of black tights and a red coat. Elesa walked on the catwalk in front of me, sending me a wink.

Then the heel of her shoe snapped and she tumbled toward the edge of the catwalk. I didn't waste any time and moved in the way to catch her as she fell off. She landed right in my arms and all of the spotlights trained on me. The crowd let out a gasp at what had just transpired.

I looked at Elesa as she looked up at me. Her light blue eyes sparked. I let her go and a whole bunch of security detail came to her aid.

"I'm fine, just tell Madame Gardevoir I'm cancelling my association with her cheap ass shoes," Elesa said, taking her heels off.

She turned back to me and smiled.

"Meet me in my dressing room after the show, my hero," she said, winking at me.

I watched as she climbed back up onto the catwalk, which was taller than me, and dusted herself off before going into the back to try on another new outfit.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter XX**

After the show, I did as I was requested and went to Elesa's dressing room. She had two burly security guards outside and they stopped me immediately.

"This is off limits buddy," one of them said to me as his partner cracked his knuckles menacingly.

"Elesa asked me to meet her here," I said.

"Uh huh, sure she did," the first security guard said.

"Yeah, we know you're lying," the second added.

"Now leave or we gonna make you leave," the first went on, putting his hand on my shoulder.

"Get your hands off of me," I growled.

"Ooh, someone thinks he's a tough guy," the first security guard said.

I was about to show them that I really was a tough guy, but Elesa opened the door.

"Guys calm down, he's telling the truth," she said.

"Yes Ms. Elesa," the second security guard said bashfully.

I pushed past the security guards and followed Elesa into her dressing room.

"Sorry about those two, they're absolutely dimwitted, but they mean well," Elesa said.

"Yeah, but I think I'm above their pay grade," I said.

"I bet you are, Nero Hishiro," Elesa said, sitting down on a chair, crossing her legs.

"How do you know my name?" I asked her, not daring to sit down in case this was a trap.

"Oh, Burgh and Lenora told me. We Gym Leaders do keep in touch," Elesa responded.

"You're a Gym Leader?" I asked her.

"Yes I am," Elesa responded, nodding, and smiling.

"Never would've pegged you as one," I said, finally sitting down on a chair.

"What did you assume that I was another prissy model who starved themselves?" Elesa asked.

"Yes, I did," I admitted, feeling guilty for doing so.

"Well, honey, never assume something about someone without meeting them first. When you assume, you only make an ass out of you and me," Elesa remarked, smiling.

"I'm sorry," I apologized.

"Don't be sorry, I won't hold your perceptions of me against you, I'm just going to make sure you truly see me as the real person I am by the time you are ready to leave for the next Gym," Elesa said.

I chuckled and nodded.

"Alright," I said.

"But I must say that you're not what I assumed you would be. I expected to see a brave, confident, man, not this empty shell. So, tell me, what happened?" Elesa asked.

"How do you know that something happened?" I asked her.

"I can see it in your eyes and I know you're not the type who would willingly go to one of my shows, but as I can see, there's no girl who dragged you there, so is it a girl that's emptied your shell Nero Hishiro?" Elesa asked me.

I was surprised at her powers in deduction. She must be incredibly smart.

"Yeah… my girlfriend and I got into a fight and she broke up with me," I said.

"What happened?" Elesa asked.

I told her everything, how Hilda and I started and what led up to our end. I even mentioned the dream I had involving both Rebecca and Hilda.

"She must've heard me call out Rebecca's name in my sleep," I muttered.

"Aww, Nero, your dream is nothing to be ashamed of. It's natural for a man to dream like that, but dreams are thoughts, not actions," Elesa said.

"But why did I have that dream?" I asked.

"Maybe the romance in your relationship lost its spark," Elesa suggested.

"Well, how do I reignite it?" I asked.

"First, you need to apologize like crazy to her, and get her forgiveness. Then, you need to suggest the very thing you dreamed of," Elesa said, winking at me.

"Wait, you don't mean?" I questioned.

"Yes I do mean that," Elesa said.

"Where would I find another girl willing to do so?" I asked.

"I'm game. Consider it a thank you for catching me," Elesa said.

I was still hesitant about even going back to Hilda and beg for forgiveness.

"Don't hesitate; just go with it, Nero. Go all in and if it still doesn't work, then you will just have to move on," Elesa said.

I thought about it for a second and then nodded at the Gym Leader.

"Alright, you're right," I said, standing to my feet.

Elesa got to her feet as well and smiled at me.

"Go get her, Nero," she said.

I nodded and started to leave, but stopped at the last second.

"Why did you want me to come here?" I asked her.

"When you caught me, I saw your eyes and knew immediately who you were. I also saw that you were an empty shell version of the man that Burgh and Lenora described. I figured everything out from that one glance," Elesa said.

"You really are smarter than you look," I said.

"Why thank you, Nero," Elesa responded.

I nodded and left her dressing room. I brought out all of my Pokémon and lined them up in front of me.

"Alright guys, Hilda and I got into a fight and she broke up with me. We're all going to help me get her back," I said.

"_We're with you, Nero_," Charmeleon said.

"_Bros stick together_," Honchkrow added in.

I nodded and smiled before devising my plan, "Operation White".


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter XXI**

Hilda was lying on her stomach on a bed in the motel room she rented. There were wet tissues around her and she was crying. She had already made plans to head back home the next morning.

A knock on the door made her jump. She looked at the door with crimson stained eyes.

"Who is it?" she asked.

No answer came. She got out of bed and walked over to the door. She looked through the peephole, but saw no one. Hilda then opened the door and looked around, but saw no one; she then looked at the ground and saw a bouquet of white and red roses sitting in a vase. There was a card attached to them.

Hilda picked up the card and read it.

"To the most beautiful girl in the world…," Hilda read.

She suddenly felt a cold chill go up her spine and she turned to see another vase full of red and white roses sitting on her bed. There was a card attached to this one as well. Hilda picked it up and read it.

"I am so sorry for hurting you…," she read.

Tears started welling up in her eyes as she knew who this was from. She heard flapping wings and dark feathers dropped down in front of her door. Hilda walked out and there were more roses clipped to her door. A card then fell out into her hands and she read it.

"I hope you can forgive me…," she read.

A bone was then thrown at her direction. It turned and a single rose with yet another card attached to it fell off as the bone returned to its thrower.

"I love you so much…," Hilda read.

She then heard a motorcycle's engine rev and ran out to the parking lot. There was a hole in the ground with another rose and card.

"Your lover, your partner, and most importantly your friend, Nero Hishiro…," Hilda read.

"Hilda," I said, grabbing her attention.

She looked at me as I walked over to her. A stream of fire went into the air and formed into a massive flaming heart behind me.

"Please forgive me," I begged her.

"Nero…," she tried to respond, but couldn't.

Honchkrow, Zorua, Cubone, Haunter, and Sandile then joined Charmeleon.

"I am so sorry for dreaming about another girl," I said.

Hilda pursed her lips and tried to not cry, but failed.

"Hilda, please forgive me," I begged her again.

Hilda looked at me.

"Nero… I forgive you," she said, running into my arms.

I wrapped my arms around her waist and she wrapped hers around the back of my neck. She kissed me passionately, crying while doing so. These were not tears of sadness or anger, but these were tears of joy.

We separated and caught our breaths.

"I love you Hilda, and I always will," I said.

"I love you too," Hilda responded.

"I do want to explain my dream to you though. I want to clarify some things for you," I said.

Hilda looked at me strangely.

"I think we lost our romance spark and that's why I dreamed of Rebecca…," I said.

"Nero… can I ask you something about your dream?" Hilda asked.

"Sure," I responded.

"Was I there?" she asked.

"Of course you were," I said.

"Good," she responded.

"I do know how we can reignite our spark though," I said.

"Oh? How so?" Hilda asked.

"The very thing I dreamed about," I said.

"Are you suggesting a threesome?" Hilda asked, moving her hands down to her hips.

"Yes," I said.

"And who would this other girl be?" Hilda asked.

"A friend who helped me get the courage to get your forgiveness," I said.

"Who?" Hilda asked.

"It's a long story and you will meet her soon, but what do you say? I want your decision," I said.

"Well, it's not like I haven't had sex with another girl before," Hilda admitted.

"Wait, what?" I questioned.

"I never told you?" Hilda asked.

"No," I responded.

Hilda smiled.

"Tell me!" I exclaimed.

"Alright, God, I'll tell you," Hilda said, chuckling while rolling her eyes.

*Flashback*

_Hilda and another girl walked up into her room. They were still in high school and had partnered up for a class project. The other girl's name was Mei and she had a big crush on Hilda. She had long, brown hair that was styled to have twin buns on the side of her head with two ponytails trailing down to her waist and round, blue eyes. She was wearing the same school girl uniform as Hilda, but instead of having her legs bare like Hilda; she was wearing black tights beneath her miniskirt. _

_ Hilda and Mei sat down on Hilda's bed to discuss their project. They had to write a paper on the Kanto Champion, Red Satoshi, and how he fought against all the odds and became Champion of the Kanto Region. _

"_Hilda, can I tell you something?" Mei asked. _

"_Sure," Hilda responded. _

_ Mei was a friend of hers she knew from intermediate school. She wanted her to be able to confide in her with anything. Mei got to her feet and walked over to Hilda's door. She closed it and locked it. _

"_What's going on?" Hilda asked. _

"_I need to show you this…," Mei said._

_ Hilda got to her feet and approached Mei. _

"_Mei, what's wrong…?" Hilda tried asking, but Mei suddenly enveloped her lips around hers. _

_ Hilda stood there in shock as Mei wrapped her arms around her waist and plunged her tongue into her mouth. Hilda soon melted into the kiss and kissed right back, wrestling with Mei's tongue and wrapping her arms around her waist as well. _

_ Hilda and Mei turned, so Mei had her back to Hilda's bed and they took each other's shirt off. Hilda pushed Mei onto her back and straddled the slender girl's waist. Mei reached up and grabbed at Hilda's still clothed breasts, causing her to moan. _

"_Let's go all the way, Hilda," Mei said. _

"_Let's," Hilda agreed. _

_ They then stripped each other completely naked and Hilda spread Mei's legs open. _

*End Flashback*

"And that's all you need to hear," Hilda said, smiling at me.

"What ever happened to Mei?" I asked.

"She had to move to the Hoenn Region," Hilda said.

"Oh… so what do you say about my proposition?" I asked her.

"If it's to help our relationship, then I say yes, but I still want to know who the other girl is," Hilda said.

On cue, Elesa approached us.

"Sorry guys, paparazzi are a major pain," Elesa said.

Hilda looked at me and then at the gorgeous supermodel/Gym Leader.

"It's a long story," I said.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter XXII**

I woke up the next morning completely naked with an equally naked Hilda on one side of me, hugging me in her sleep, and an equally naked Elesa on my other side, also hugging me in her sleep.

Last night was incredible. Not only did I have sex with a supermodel, but I also had sex with my loving girlfriend who had a reignited passion.

Elesa stirred in her sleep, lifting her leg over me and brushing up against my morning surprise.

"Mmm… good morning," she said to me, opening her eyes.

"Morning," I said quietly.

"Last night was great," Elesa said, moving closer to kiss me.

"Yeah… thanks… for everything," I said.

"Anything for a friend," Elesa said, getting out the bed.

She bent over and found her panties. She slid them up her long legs and clothed her tight rear. She turned around to face me.

"Mind handing me my bra, it's on the headboard above your head?" Elesa asked.

I reached up with my free arm and threw her bra to her. She smiled thanks and covered up her perky breasts.

"Are we gonna do that again, because I'm game if you two are?" Hilda asked, waking up as well.

I looked at Elesa and she smiled.

"Pity I just dressed," Elesa pointed out.

"Well, we can undress you," I said.

"With our teeth," Hilda added, winking at the Gym Leader.

Elesa grinned and climbed back into bed where Hilda and I put her on her back. I undid her bra and pulled it off with my teeth just like Hilda suggested. I immediately began sucking on her nipples. Hilda pulled Elesa's panties down to her ankles and fingered the Gym Leader's entrance, causing her to moan.

Hilda then pushed me off Elesa and went to sucking on her nipples. Hilda lifted the blonde's leg up to her side and rubbed down her thigh as she thrust her entrance into Elesa's entrance. I went behind Hilda and began thrusting into her as she thrust into Elesa.

A couple hours after our morning quickie, Elesa had already left to wait for me at the Nimbasa City Gym and Hilda and I showered and dressed to begin our day.

I had already decided on the Pokémon I was going to choose for my Gym Battle with Elesa.

Hilda and I walked into the Gym and she walked over to the stands beside the battlefield. I had to walk down a long catwalk to reach the battlefield.

"Are you ready, Nero Hishiro?" Elesa asked.

"I'm always ready," I said, readying my Pokéball.

"This Gym match between the Nimbasa City Gym Leader Elesa and the challenger, Nero Hishiro from Nuvema Town will now commence. This will be a three-on-three battle where each Trainer is allowed to use only three Pokémon each!" the robotic referee announced.

"Go Pikachu!" Elesa called out her first Pokémon.

"Go Sandile!" I called out my first Pokémon in response.

"Ooh, going to try some type advantage, eh?" Elesa asked me.

"Maybe," I responded.

"Pikachu, use Quick Attack!" Elesa called out.

"Dodge it with Dig, Sandile!" I countered.

Pikachu charged in quickly, but Sandile dove into the ground.

"Careful, Pikachu, he can come out from anywhere," Elesa warned.

Pikachu looked around, using her ears to listen for Sandile.

"Now Sandile!" I called out.

Sandile erupted out of the sand and threw Pikachu up into the air.

"Use Stone Edge!" I called out.

"Block it with Iron Tail!" Elesa responded.

Twin belts of jagged stones circled around Sandile before firing off at Pikachu, who's tail glowed a steely gray, and she deflected all of the stones as she came back down to the ground.

"Use Iron Tail on Sandile!" Elesa called out.

"Counter with Bite!" I responded.

Pikachu spun and tried hitting Sandile with an Iron Tail, but the Desert Croc Pokémon caught the attack in his jaws.

"Finish this with Stone Edge!" I called out.

Sandile fired the jagged stones into Pikachu, knocking her out.

"Pikachu is unable to battle!" the referee announced.

Elesa returned Pikachu to her Pokéball.

"You did well," she said, readying her second Pokémon.

"Go Emolga!" Elesa called out.

Hilda, seeing a new Pokémon, aimed her Pokédex at it.

"Emolga, the Sky Squirrel Pokémon. It glides on its outstretched membrane while shocking foes with the electricity stored in the pouches on its cheeks," her Pokédex said.

Emolga is a rodent-like Pokémon, primarily white in coloration, that most resembles a flying squirrel. It possesses black eyes, a tiny nose, and yellow cheek patches. Its ears, positioned at the top of its head, are rounded in shape and black in coloration, with yellow and white sections of coloration in the inside of its ears. Emolga sports a vaguely hood-like patterning of black around its head, with a spiky extension of the pattern above its face. Emolga possesses wing like, yellow-colored flaps connected to its three-fingered arms. Its feet are white-colored and fairly small and its black-colored tail is in a jagged shape.

"Great, a Flying-type. So much for Dig…," I muttered.

"Emolga use Acrobatics!" Elesa called out.

Emolga swooped in quickly, knocking Sandile up into the air. She flew around and hit Sandile a second time while he was in the air.

"Stone Edge!" I called out.

Sandile fired the jagged rocks at Emolga.

"Agility!" Elesa countered.

Emolga quickly flew in between all of the stones and got in close to Sandile.

"Finish it with one more Acrobatics!" Elesa called out.

Emolga hit Sandile up into the air and then knocked him back down into the ground, knocking him out.

"Sandile is unable to battle!" the referee announced.

I returned him to his Pokéball.

"Good job Sandile, have a nice rest," I said, sending out Zorua.

The Dark-type looked ready.

"Use Faint Attack!" I called out.

Zorua charged forward and then disappeared. Emolga looked around, but couldn't see Zorua reappearing above her and hitting her into the ground.

"Use Night Daze quick!" I called out.

Zorua, still holding Emolga down on the ground, erupted in purple flames inflicting a bunch of damage to Emolga and eventually knocking her out.

"Emolga is unable to battle!" the referee announced.

"You did well, Emolga, rest my friend," Elesa said, returning Emolga to her Pokéball.

Elesa then sent out her final Pokémon and Hilda readied her Pokédex.

"Zebstrika, the Thunderbolt Pokémon. When this ill-tempered Pokémon runs wild, it shoots lightning from its mane in all directions," her Pokédex said.

Zebstrika is a zebra-like Pokémon. Its coat is black with white, jagged stripes all over its body. There is one pointed stripe extending from its nose, two elaborate stripes on its neck and chest, one zigzag stripe each on its jaws, back, and hindquarters, one triangular stripe on each of its thighs, and two stripes banding each of its legs. Its ears are triangular and lined with blue skin, while its eyes are blue with yellow sclera and white eyelashes. Its nose is black, and its hooves are gray. A white, spiked mane runs the length of its body, beginning with two horn-like extensions on its forehead and running down its back to end in a long tail with a starburst-shaped tip. This irritable Pokémon fires lightning bolts from its mane when angry. Zebstrika can move as quickly as lightning, releasing thunderclaps at full gallop.

Zebstrika clawed at the ground with his hooves and looked strong.

"Zorua, use Night Daze!" I called out.

"Wild Charge!" Elesa countered.

Zorua became engulfed in purple flames and she charged toward Zebstrika. Zebstrika reared back and slammed his front hooves into the ground becoming engulfed in blue lightning and charged toward Zorua as well.

The two attacks collided and an explosion covered both of them in smoke.

"Zorua!" I called out, trying to see her through the smoke.

The smoke then cleared and Zorua was unconscious, but Zebstrika looked just as strong as he did when he first came out.

"Zorua is unable to battle!" the referee announced.

"Incredible…," I muttered, returning Zorua to her Pokéball.

I thought about my final Pokémon and everything we've been through together. I smiled and sent out Charmeleon.

"Zebstrika, use Discharge!" Elesa called out.

Zebstrika fired bolts of blue electricity toward Charmeleon.

"Dodge it!" I called out.

Charmeleon rolled out of the way.

"Flamethrower!" I added in.

Charmeleon breathed out a stream of fire, engulfing Zebstrika in flames.

"Wild Charge," Elesa ordered calmly.

Zebstrika suddenly reared up and slammed his hooves into the ground, dissipating the Flamethrower around him, and engulfing himself in blue electricity. He galloped toward Charmeleon, who kept breathing the Flamethrower in hopes of stopping Zebstrika, but was knocked into the far wall.

Charmeleon slid down to the ground and lay there for a bit.

"Charmeleon!" I called out.

He struggled to get to his feet as the robotic referee floated over, ready to make the call if needed.

Charmeleon suddenly became engulfed in flames and glared at Zebstrika.

"What's going on?" I questioned.

"_That's Charmeleon's Blaze ability. It maxes out his Fire-type moves' power in a pinch_," Reshiram explained.

"Charmeleon, use Flamethrower, all or nothing, now or never!" I called out.

Charmeleon dug both claws into the ground and fired a massive torrent of flames toward Zebstrika. The flames engulfed him and the Electric-type Pokémon fell to the ground in a heap.

"Zebstrika is unable to battle! Elesa is out of usable Pokémon; therefore, Nero Hishiro is the victor!" the robotic referee announced.

Charmeleon's Blaze dissipated and he fell forward in exhaustion. I ran toward him and helped him back to his feet.

"Thanks Charmeleon," I said, returning him to his Pokéball so he could rest.

Elesa approached me and I stood tall.

"Congratulations, Nero, here is the Bolt Badge to show proof that you were victorious at the Nimbasa City Gym," Elesa said, handing me a Badge.

I smiled and thanked her, putting the Badge into my Badge Case.

Hilda ran onto the battlefield and hugged me.

"You're halfway there Nero," she pointed out.

"Yeah…," I responded.

"Hey guys, you know there is a tournament starting tomorrow and you both compete in it. The prize is one of each evolutionary stone known," Elesa pointed out.

"What's the tournament called?" I asked.

"The Athletic Cup," Elesa answered me.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter XXIII**

The next morning, Hilda and I awoke in preparation for the Athletic Cup. We had signed up for it after my win at the Nimbasa City Gym. We also found out that we were only allowed to use one Pokémon throughout the entire tournament.

We stood outside the Big Stadium where soccer and football games along with Pokémon tournaments would take place.

"Nero! Hilda!" Bianca called out, running over to us with Cheren close behind.

We greeted our childhood friends.

"Did you sign up for the Athletic Cup as well?" Hilda asked.

"Yeah," Bianca responded.

"Nero!" Spectra called out, running over with N close behind.

"You two too?" I asked.

"The Athletic Cup? Yeah," Spectra responded.

"I want to take this moment to wish all of you the best of luck in the Athletic Cup," N said.

"Aww, ain't my boyfriend the sweetest?" Spectra asked rhetorically, hugging onto N.

I rolled my eyes.

"Son of a bitch, you freaks are in the Athletic Cup too?" Alex asked us as he approached.

"Ah shit, you're in here too?" I asked.

"Yeah, and I'm gonna win it all too!" Alex snapped.

"I'm confused, who is this?" N asked Hilda.

"He was Charmeleon's former Trainer and he abandoned him as a Charmander because he was "too weak"," Hilda explained.

"How cowardly," N said, spitting at Alex's feet.

"You got a problem with me!?" Alex snapped, getting into N's face.

I grabbed Alex and pushed him away from N.

"Back off!" I snapped.

"Fuck all of you," Alex growled, walking away.

We all walked into the lobby of the Big Stadium and Elesa graced us with her presence.

"Welcome all eight of you to the Athletic Cup. This is just a fun little tournament where the prize is one of each of the evolutionary stones," Elesa said.

A few of us cheered.

"Now we will randomly assign you your opponent for the first round of the tournament," Elesa said, looking up at a screen where all of our pictures were shown.

Our pictures went through an animation where it looked like we were stacked together and shuffled like a deck of cards. Then our pictures were dealt out upside down so the only thing shown was a little picture of a Pokéball.

"The first set of opponents is Nero Hishiro and Hilda White!" Elesa called out.

She looked at Hilda and I as we looked at each other. Out of everyone here, she was my first opponent.

"The next opponents are Alex Garcia and Spectra Flame!" Elesa called out.

"Oh I'm going to beat the shit out of him," Spectra growled, cracking her knuckles.

"The next opponents are Cheren Black and N!" Elesa announced.

The two guys looked at each other with some indifference.

"And the final opponents are Bianca Belle against Vincent Lopez!" Elesa called out.

Bianca looked at her opponent and smiled at him.

"The Athletic Cup will now get under way!" Elesa announced, pointing her finger up into the air.

We all walked into a back room lined with sofas, flat screen televisions, and even a mini fridge full of drinks.

"Nero, Hilda, come with me. Your match is set to begin," Elesa said, leading us out of the room and out onto a battlefield.

The crowd up in the stands roared in applause for the two of us. I grabbed Hilda's hand and looked at her.

"I want your best, your very best. Give me a challenge and push me toward the edge, because I'm going to give you the same God damn thing," I said.

Hilda nodded and I let go of her hand before going to my side of the battlefield and Hilda went to hers.

"I will be refereeing this match. You will use one Pokémon each and it must be the Pokémon you signed up with during registration," Elesa said.

I brought out her Pokéball and sent out Zorua. Hilda sent out Bayleef.

"Begin!" Elesa called out.

"Zorua, use Pursuit!" I called out.

Zorua fired the purple ball of energy at Bayleef.

"Use Vine Whip to dodge!" Hilda countered.

Bayleef lifted herself into the air over the Pursuit.

"Now push off and use Body Slam!" Hilda called out.

Bayleef launched herself over to Zorua.

"Dodge it with Faint Attack!" I called out.

Zorua waited until the last second to disappear. Bayleef slammed into the ground, sending up a dust cloud around herself. Bayleef got up and looked around, wondering where Zorua went. Zorua suddenly appeared and slammed Bayleef in her face, knocking the large Grass-type off her feet.

"Fury Swipes!" I called out.

Zorua landed briefly before bounding back toward Bayleef. She slashed at her with her claws.

"Vine Whip!" Hilda called out.

Bayleef suddenly caught Zorua in her vines.

"Slam her into the ground!" Hilda ordered.

Bayleef mercilessly slammed Zorua into the ground over and over and over again.

"Now throw her up!" Hilda added on.

Bayleef threw Zorua high up into the air.

"Now use Solarbeam!" Hilda shouted.

"Oh no!" I called out as a white ball of solar energy appeared in Bayleef's mouth.

She gathered up the energy needed just as Zorua began her descent toward earth.

"Zorua!" I called out to her.

She suddenly started glowing and I knew immediately what was going on. I pulled out my Pokédex.

"Zoroark, the Illusion Fox Pokémon. Stories say those who tried to catch Zoroark were trapped in an illusion and punished," my Pokédex said.

Zoroark is a bipedal fox-like Pokémon, and mainly grayish-brown in coloration with crimson and black accents. It has a pointed snout and ears, the insides of which have red coloration. Zoroark also has some red rimming its eyes and mouth. Zoroark has a large, voluminous mane, primarily red in coloration but with black tips. The mane also somewhat resembles a ponytail, as a teal bangle down its length separates a mass of the mane from the lower portion. Zoroark has a black ruff on its upper body, pointed at the shoulders from which its arms extend. Its upper arms are thin, whereas its lower arms, while still slim, are bulkier. The arms have spiky extensions of fur at the elbows, and Zoroark's three claws, as well as the claws on its feet, are red in coloration. Zoroark's eyes are red-rimmed with light blue irises.

Bayleef suddenly launched the Solarbeam up toward Zoroark who was falling straight down toward it.

"Zoroark!" I called out.

She suddenly smiled and breathed out a stream of fire into the oncoming Solarbeam.

The two attacks met and Zoroark hovered in the air for a bit before falling over the side of both attacks as they exploded in midair. She landed in front of me and smiled.

"_Let's have some fun_," she growled.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter XXIV**

"Wow… you evolved," I said.

"_Yes, now let's finish this_," Zoroark growled.

"Right. Zoroark, use Night Daze!" I called out.

Zoroark became engulfed in purple flames and she charged into Bayleef, knocking her out.

"Bayleef is unable to battle; therefore, Zoroark and Nero are victorious!" Elesa called out.

Hilda lowered her head and returned Bayleef to her Pokéball.

"Thank you, Bayleef, you were so strong," she said.

She then lifted her head and smiled at me.

We walked toward the middle of the battlefield and met each other there.

"Great battle," I said to her.

"You made it great," Hilda said.

"_We _made it great," I corrected her.

We then shook hands to show respect of each other's battling skills and followed Elesa back into the room.

"That was an awesome battle!" Bianca exclaimed to us.

"You both did great," Spectra added in.

"Wow, if it caused you that much trouble to beat _her_ then you must be weak!" Alex exclaimed, laughing.

Hilda and I both were ready to kill, but Elesa intervened.

"Alex and Spectra, it's your turn to battle," Elesa said, standing between Hilda and I and Alex.

She then led the two of them out of the room and out onto the battlefield.

"Nice ass," I could hear Alex mutter about Elesa.

I rolled my eyes and sat down on one of the sofas.

"I hope Spectra kicks his ass," I said.

"We all hope so," Bianca added.

Elesa readied both of them for the battle.

"Go Rhyperior!" Alex called out.

I immediately brought out my Pokédex.

"Rhyperior, the Drill Pokémon. It can launch a rock held in its hand like a missile by tightening then expanding muscles instantly," my Pokédex said.

Rhyperior has basically the same build as its predecessor, Rhydon, although it is taller, heavier, and has an additional horn. Rhyperior has a club-like tail and its hide is partially covered by orange, rocky plates. Rhyperior has blade-like protrusions on its elbows and has holes in the palms of its hands which works as a cannon or a gun. Rhyperior's body is a brownish-gray as opposed to just regular gray. It also appears to have two thick, rectangular rocks above its eyes, resembling heavy eyebrows.

"Go Aura!" Spectra called out.

Her nicknamed Riolu appeared and stood bravely against the monstrosity before it.

"Ha! You think that little, puny thing is going to beat my massive Rhyperior!?" Alex laughed.

"Begin!" Elesa called out.

"Rhyperior, use Hammer Arm!" Alex called out.

His Rhyperior raised his massive arm and brought it down toward Riolu.

"Dodge it," Spectra said.

Aura did a back flip and avoided Rhyperior's Hammer Arm attack.

"Keep using Hammer Arm!" Alex snapped.

"Keep dodging," Spectra responded.

Rhyperior kept trying to turn Aura into a nail, but Aura simply kept dodging the move.

"Why does she keep dodging and not attacking?" Hilda asked.

I then noticed something strange about Rhyperior. He was getting slower and slower.

"Cheren, what does Hammer Arm do?" I asked.

"It slows the attacker down," Cheren said, smiling.

Spectra was smartly making Alex destroy himself.

Rhyperior suddenly stopped attacking and paused to catch his breath. He was exhausted and felt sluggish.

"Use Drill Run, damn it!" Alex snapped.

Rhyperior's nose drills began spinning and he charged in toward Aura, but was really slow in doing so.

"Dodge," Spectra ordered.

Aura simply rolled between Rhyperior's legs.

"Quit dodging you stupid barefooted coward!" Alex snapped angrily.

"Finish this with Force Palm," Spectra said.

Aura turned and jumped up to Rhyperior's face. With a glowing palm, Riolu hit Rhyperior in the face, knocking the much larger Pokémon off his feet. He fell in a massive heap and couldn't go any further.

"Rhyperior is unable to battle; therefore, Spectra and Aura are the winners!" Elesa announced, feeling proud that Alex had lost.

"How is this fucking possible!?" Alex snapped.

"Hammer Arm slows you down, dumbass!" Spectra called over to the other side of the battlefield.

Alex gritted his teeth and returned Rhyperior to his Pokéball.

He then left the stadium without another word.

Elesa led Spectra back into the room where she was met with a lot of praise from all of us for effectively defeating Alex.

"Cheren, N, you two are next," Elesa said.

The two of them nodded and followed Elesa out of the room and out onto the battlefield.

"So Spectra, do you know what Pokémon N is going to use?" I asked her.

"No, not at all," Spectra responded.

We all then turned our attention back to the screen.

"Begin!" Elesa called out.

"Servine, at the ready!" Cheren shouted, calling out his Starter Pokémon.

The Grass-type Pokémon stood, ready for the battle.

"Sigilyph, let me hear your voice," N responded calmly, sending out his Pokémon.

I pulled out my Pokédex to get information on this new Pokémon.

"Sigilyph, the Avianoid Pokémon. The guardians of an ancient city, they always fly the same route while keeping watch for invaders," my Pokédex said.

Sigilyph is a spherical Pokémon, possessing two cyan eyes with a third on a black appendage on top of its head. Sigilyph has a pair of wings and a tail that are yellow with blue and red stripes on each of the "feathers", two black-colored three-toed "feet", and two small spikes at its base. Sigilyph will use its psychic powers to attack anyone who invades its territory. Due to it retaining memories from when it guarded an ancient city, it apparently flies along the same route constantly.

"Cheren is at a disadvantage," I pointed out.

"That doesn't always matter," Hilda responded.

"Sigilyph, use Air Cutter," N ordered.

Sigilyph's wings glowed white and fired crescent-shaped blasts of energy at Servine.

"Leaf Blade," Cheren responded calmly.

Servine's tail glowed green and he placed it in the path of the oncoming Air Cutter. The Leaf Blade blocked the Air Cutter attack.

"Psybeam," N ordered.

"Block it with Vine Whip," Cheren responded.

Sigilyph fired a purple beam of psychic energy at Servine and Servine blocked it with a pair of vines.

"Servine is very strong," I muttered.

"Servine, use Leaf Blade," Cheren ordered.

Servine's tail glowed green and he ran in toward Sigilyph.

"Sigilyph, use Psybeam," N ordered.

Sigilyph fired the purple beam of psychic energy at Servine, but the quick Grass-type Pokémon dodged it and jumped up into the air. He turned and hit Sigilyph with the Leaf Blade attack.

"Now use Leaf Tornado," Cheren ordered.

Servine landed and immediately dropped onto his back. He spun around and a tornado of leaves engulfed Sigilyph, throwing the Psychic/Flying-type around.

The Leaf Tornado subsided and Sigilyph looked tired from the back-to-back moves.

"Finish this with Slam!" Cheren called out.

Servine jumped up and slammed his tail up into Sigilyph, knocking the Pokémon out.

"Sigilyph is unable to battle; therefore, Cheren and Servine are victorious!" Elesa called out.

N returned Sigilyph back to its Pokéball.

"Thank you, my friend," N said.

Cheren returned Servine to his Pokéball and met N in the center of the battlefield. They shook hands and followed Elesa back to the room where we all met them.

"Aww, N, I wanted to battle you," Spectra complained.

"Maybe next time," N responded, smiling.

Elesa then led Bianca and her opponent Vincent out onto the battlefield. We all watched Bianca and her Dewott defeat Vincent and his Watchog in a good battle.

"Now for the second round of the Athletic Cup and we will see battles between Nero Hishiro and Bianca Belle, and Spectra Flame and Cheren Black!" Elesa called out.

Bianca and I faced off against each other.

"Begin!" Elesa called out.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter XXV**

"Go Zoroark!" I called out.

"Go Dewott!" Bianca called out.

Our Pokémon faced off against each other and I smiled.

"Zoroark, Flamethrower!" I called out.

"Water Pulse!" Bianca responded.

Zoroark unleashed a stream of fire, but Dewott fired a ball of water into the flames and extinguished the fire. Steam filled the battlefield and concealed Zoroark.

"Zoroark, you know what to do," I said.

Dewott looked around in the steam, not knowing where Zoroark is.

"Dewott, use Water Pulse on anything that moves!" Bianca called out.

Dewott looked around and saw a shadow race by in the steam and fired a Water Pulse, but hit nothing. He saw another shadow, but again missed.

"Night Slash," I ordered.

Zoroark appeared from behind Dewott and hit him with claws infused with dark energy. She disappeared again in the steam, laughing mercilessly.

"Get ready with a Razor Shell!" Bianca called out.

Dewott pulled out both of his scalchops and twin blades of water energy appeared from them. He got into a fighting stance and waited.

"Zoroark, now!" I called out.

Zoroark ran out of the steam with a Night Slash at the ready.

"Dewott, now!" Bianca cried out.

Dewott sliced the Razor Shell into Zoroark and she faded away. It was an illusion!

"Finish this with Night Daze!" I called out.

Zoroark cleared away the steam as purple flames engulfed her. She charged into Dewott and knocked him out.

"Dewott is unable to battle; therefore, Nero and Zoroark are victorious and will be in the finals of the Athletic Cup!" Elesa called out.

Bianca recalled Dewott and smiled as she ran to meet me in the middle of the battlefield. She hugged me.

"Nero, that was an incredible battle!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, Zoroark mastered her Illusion abilities," I said.

Elesa then led us back to the room where we were met with applause.

"Nero, that was incredible how you used Zoroark to win," Spectra admitted.

"Thanks, we came up with the idea between battles," I said.

"Impressive," N replied.

I nodded and then Elesa cleared our throat to get our attentions.

"Cheren, Spectra, it's your turn. Whoever wins here gets to face Nero in the finals," Elesa said.

They nodded, but stayed behind as Elesa walked out.

"Good luck to both of you. You're both the biggest pains in my ass next to Hilda, but I love you both," I said.

Hilda chucked a water bottle at me that I caught one handed.

Cheren and Spectra walked out of the room and onto the battlefield. They brought out their Pokémon.

"Begin!" Elesa called out.

"Servine, use Vine Whip!" Cheren called out.

"Dodge it!" Spectra responded.

Servine lashed out with his vines, but Aura jumped and ducked past them, getting in close to Servine.

"Force Palm!" Spectra called out.

Aura slammed a glowing palm into Servine's midsection, causing the Grass-type Pokémon to slide backward. A sudden surge of electricity went over Servine.

"He's been Paralyzed!" I called out, getting to my feet.

"Servine, now use Leaf Blade!" Cheren called out, unfazed by the status ailment that's come over his Pokémon.

Servine shook off his paralysis and slammed his tail into Aura.

"Shadow Claw!" Spectra called out.

Shadow energy came over Aura's paw and formed into a claw. Aura then charged in and slashed into Servine.

"Use Vine Whip to throw Aura up into the air!" Cheren called out.

Servine wrapped his vines around Aura and threw the Fighting-type up into the air.

"Now use Leaf Tornado!" Cheren called out.

Servine tried to do the Grass-type move, but his paralysis prevented him from doing so.

"Blaze Kick!" Spectra called out, taking advantage of Cheren's predicament.

Flames covered Aura's foot and she came down onto Servine's head, pushing the Grass-type into the ground.

Aura jumped back in front of Spectra and waited for whatever was to happen next.

"Servine! Come on Servine, I know you can keep doing this! Come on! Servine!" Cheren called out.

Suddenly a green aura came over Servine and he pushed off the ground with the use of his vines.

"That's Overgrow! It's the Grass-type equivalent to Blaze!" I pointed out.

"Alright Servine, use Leaf Tornado!" Cheren called out.

Servine rolled on his back and the twister of leaves sucked Aura inside, battering the Fighting-type.

"Now hit it with Leaf Blade!" Cheren snapped.

Servine jumped into the Leaf Tornado and hit Aura out of it. She slammed into the ground and Servine landed as the Leaf Tornado dissipated behind him. Aura struggled to get to her feet.

"Come on Aura… Come on Aura… COME ON AURA!" Spectra called out.

Aura then began glowing and I pulled out my Pokédex.

"Lucario, the Aura Pokémon. By reading the aura of all things, it can tell how others are feeling from over half a mile away," my Pokédex said.

Lucario is a bipedal, jackal-like Pokémon, with fur that is predominantly blue and black. It possesses a short, round spike on the back of each forepaw, in addition to a third on its chest. Lucario's snout and ears are longer than those of its pre-evolution, Riolu. It possesses cream-colored fur on its torso, and blue fur on its thighs that resembles shorts. Like its pre-evolution, Lucario stands on its toes rather than on its entire foot. It has developed four small black appendages on its head, which rise when Lucario reads or manipulates aura.

"Aura… wow, you evolved!" Spectra called out.

"Quick use Leaf Blade!" Cheren called out, not wanting to waste any time.

Servine ran in with his tail glowing green, but at the last second, Aura ducked under the attack and Servine went right over her. Aura turned and fired a ball of energy into Servine from behind. Servine stood there as if frozen in time, but then fell to the ground in an unconscious heap.

"Servine is unable to battle; therefore, Spectra and Aura are victorious!" Elesa called out.

Cheren returned Servine and thanked him for the battle as Spectra hugged her newly evolved Pokémon.

The two returned to the room and I applauded Spectra on her win.

"It's you and me next, Spectra," I said.

"Don't expect me to go easy on you," she said.

"Don't expect _me_ to go easy on _you_," I responded.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter XXVI**

Spectra and I stood facing each other with our Pokémon and a battlefield between us. Our friends were inside the room watching our battle on the television screen. Elesa stood off to the side wearing her black and white, skin-tight referee dress that showed off her long legs. I snapped out of how she brought those legs up to her shoulders and focused on the battle. This was it. The finale of the Athletic Cup. Someone here was going to win and someone here was going to lose. I looked at Spectra and could only imagine what was going through her mind.

*Inside Spectra's Mind*

"_I wonder if he's realized I stole his wallet?" Spectra asked herself in her mind. _

"_Oh well, back to the battle," she completed her thought._

*Back To The Athletic Cup Finale*

"Begin!" Elesa called out.

I waited for Spectra to make a move and she did the same to me. Finally, I gave in and made the first move.

"Flamethrower!" I called out, knowing Aura's weakness to Fire-type moves.

"Aura Sphere!" Spectra responded.

Aura fired a sphere of aura at the oncoming Flamethrower and it burst straight through the attack and went straight through Zoroark, or an illusion of her.

"Night Slash!" I called out.

Zoroark appeared above Aura and dropped down with claws infused in dark energy.

"Block it with Shadow Claw!" Spectra responded.

Aura was fast and blocked the attack with the Shadow Claw.

"Flamethrower, point blank!" I ordered.

Zoroark unleashed a stream of fire onto Aura from close range and she skidded back, but stayed on her feet.

"Aura Sphere!" Spectra called out.

"Dodge it!" I responded.

Aura fired the ball of aura at Zoroark, who tried to roll out of the way, but the attack veered toward her and hit her anyway.

"Damn it… I forgot Aura Sphere is one of those attacks that never miss," I muttered.

"Yup. Aura Sphere again!" Spectra called out.

"Zoroark, do what you do best!" I responded.

She smiled and jumped up; leaving a trail of illusions that confused the Aura Sphere. Even if it never misses, it still can't tell the real Zoroark from the illusions.

"Now use Night Daze!" I called out.

Zoroark became engulfed in purple fire and came down onto Aura from above, knocking the Fighting/Steel-type off her feet.

"Shadow Claw!" Spectra called out.

Aura was right back onto her feet and ran in with a claw of shadowy energy. She slashed Zoroark with the attack, causing the Illusion Fox Pokémon to skid backward a bit.

"Zoroark, Flamethrower again!" I called out.

Zoroark unleashed the stream of fire, hitting Aura yet again.

"Aura Sphere!" Spectra called out.

Aura shook off the flames and fired an Aura Sphere into Zoroark as well.

Both Pokémon were trading blows and it was tough to see who was really coming out on top on this one.

"Night Slash!" I called out.

"Shadow Claw!" Spectra called out.

Both of our Pokémon ran in and hit each other with their respective moves. They stood on either side of one another; Aura on my side, and Zoroark on Spectra's side.

They stood their, catching their breaths before turning to face each other again.

"_You are a worthy opponent, Zoroark_," Aura said, nodding at the Dark-type.

"_You're not so bad yourself… for a thief_," Zoroark growled in response, smirking a bit.

"_It's too bad that we're going to win this_," Aura added in.

"_We will see who wins this, Aura_," Zoroark responded.

"Flamethrower!" I called out.

"Aura Sphere!" Spectra called out.

The two attacks zipped right past each other and hit both Pokémon. Aura was engulfed in flames and ended up suffering a Burn status while Zoroark took the Aura Sphere to the face. Both Pokémon were on one knee and struggled to keep standing.

Spectra and I both watched our Pokémon intently, both praying that they would get back to their feet. A sudden flare of flame came over Aura and she dropped to both knees, supporting herself with her hands.

Zoroark smiled and then fell over completely, slipping into unconsciousness.

"Zoroark is unable to battle; therefore, Spectra Flame and her Lucario named Aura is the winner of the Athletic Cup!" Elesa called out.

Spectra jumped up in joy and ran over to Aura, supporting her Pokémon as she walked over to Elesa to retrieve her prize, one of each evolutionary stone.

I walked over to Zoroark and knelt down beside her.

"_I'm sorry Nero, I'm sorry for failing you_," she apologized.

"Don't you dare be fucking sorry for how hard you battled out there. You did your best and it came down to the very end. We both went down fighting and I couldn't be more proud of you right now," I said to Zoroark, gently stroking the fur on her forehead.

I returned her to her Pokéball and got to my feet. I looked at Spectra as she returned Aura to her Pokéball to rest. She looked at me and had her bag full of evolutionary stones in hand. We smiled at each other and met one another in the middle of the battlefield. I was the first to hold out my hand and Spectra attempted to shake it, but I pulled away at the last second and looked at her.

"My wallet first, klepto," I said, winking at her.

Spectra smiled, shaking her head, and tossed me my wallet. We then shook hands and I lifted Spectra's arm up to the entire audience.

"The winner of the Athletic Cup, Spectra Flame!" I called out and everyone erupted into applause.

I then hoisted Spectra onto my shoulders and ran her back into the room where the others waited for our arrival. They applauded the both of us for our intense battle. I let Spectra get down and she ran to hug N, who looked only at me, or more specifically, my blue eye.

He and Spectra then left for the exit, but before N left, he handed me a folded note. I waited until he left to open it.

"Meet me at the Ferris wheel, come alone… N," I read to myself.

I then looked at the exit where N had taken his leave with Spectra in hand, wondering why he wanted to meet me alone.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter XXVII**

I lied to Hilda about needing to use the bathroom to get away from the Big Stadium, so I could make my way over to the Nimbasa Amusement Park.

I made my way to the Ferris wheel and saw N already waiting for me inside one of the carriages.

"Ah, there's my friend," he said to the operator of the ride.

I tried pulling out my wallet to pay for the ride, but the ride operator stopped me.

"Your friend already paid for ya," he said.

I nodded and put my wallet away. I sat down next to N and the Ferris wheel started.

"First, I must tell you… I am the king of Team Plasma. Ghetsis asked me to work with him to save Pokémon. I wonder how many Pokémon exist in this world…," N revealed.

I looked at him in disbelief and then shook my head.

"What? You have to be joking. Very funny, N, never took you to being a jokester," I responded.

"I understand that you must think I'm pulling your leg, but I am telling you the truth," N said.

"Bullshit," I responded as the Ferris wheel reached the top and paused.

N sighed and shook his head.

"So stubborn… maybe this will show you," he muttered, reaching for his right eye.

He pulled out a contact lens and revealed that his right pupil was blood red. He then pulled his cap off and there was a black streak going through his hair. I figured it out immediately.

"The Black Stone… it chose you," I said.

"Yes, Nero Hishiro, Zekrom chose me as the Hero of Ideals, and my ideals are for Pokémon to be free," he said.

"But why side with Team Plasma? They've taken over the minds of Pokémon!" I snapped.

"And their way is temporary, their way is only so that people like you who force their Pokémon to fight doesn't get in their way!" N snapped at me.

"You know this is wrong N! Damn it, does Spectra know about this!?" I asked angrily.

"No, she doesn't…," N muttered.

"I'm telling her," I said.

"No you're not. You will tell her I sided with the bad guys, you will lie to her," N said.

"That is not a lie! You _did _side with the bad guys! Bad guys who've tried killing Spectra, and Hilda, and Cheren, and Bianca, and _me_!" I snapped.

"I am warning you, Nero, do _not _tell her," N growled.

"You can't stop me, N, Spectra needs to know," I said.

N suddenly became engulfed in darkness right next to me and a surge of electricity hit me in the chest, knocking me right out of the Ferris wheel carriage. White light swarmed over me and I turned into my White Flare Form.

Smoke billowed from my chest from where the lightning hit me, but I was okay.

I could hear N chuckling from beneath the blackness. It then faded away and N appeared. His hair was solid black and his eyes were blood red with the whites of his eyes now solid black. He was wearing a black trench coat and thick boots.

"_**Hello Hero of Truth and Reshiram, say hello to my Black Lightning Form**_," N and Zekrom said in unison.

"_**Stop this N, you know Team Plasma is only out for their own gain, not for the gain of Pokémon. They're tricking you, stop this now**_!" Reshiram and I snapped.

"_**You are blind, Hero of Truth, and that blindness will be the death of you**_!" N and Zekrom snapped together.

He fired a bolt of electricity at me, but I flew around it. N floated above the Ferris wheel carriage and ripped it out of the Ferris wheel. He then chucked it at me, but I dodged it as well.

I then noticed it was heading straight for a crowd.

"_**No**_!" I called out, flying over to catch it before it could injure or kill someone.

I placed it on the ground safely and turned only to be punched in the face by N. I fell onto my back.

"_**Weak**_," N and Zekrom muttered, spitting on me.

His hands cackled with electricity as he levitated off the ground in front of me.

"_**You're all weak and in the way of Team Plasma**_!" N and Zekrom shouted.

Several lamp posts exploded, showering people in glass shards and sparks.

"_**N, stop**_," Reshiram and I growled, getting to my feet.

N punched me in the jaw again, putting me on the ground again. He kicked me in the ribs and lifted me up off the ground. He threw me into a carnival game stand and that collapsed the building around me.

"N!" Spectra called out, running over with Hilda, Cheren, and Bianca behind her.

"_**Leave Spectra**_," N and Zekrom ordered.

"No! You've been possessed by the Spirit of Zekrom, you're with Team Plasma!" Spectra called out.

N lowered himself onto the ground and nodded.

"_**Yes…**_," N and Zekrom muttered.

"Why? You know they take control of Pokémon, right!?" Spectra called out to him.

"_**No, it's not like that… they're not like that**_," N and Zekrom growled.

"Bullshit, you know how they are! Remember the Dreamyard when Colress caged all those Munna up!?" Spectra snapped.

"_**Stop talking**_," N and Zekrom warned her as some lightning sparked around him.

"Listen to me!" Spectra called out once more.

"_**SHUT UP**_!" N and Zekrom roared, becoming surrounded by a sphere of solid electricity.

He shot off toward Spectra, but I suddenly burst out of the collapsed game booth in a sphere of blue fire and shot off to intercept N before he could hurt anyone. Our energy spheres collided and the resulting explosion knocked everyone off their feet. Fire surrounded N and myself as we got to our feet.

"_**Is this who you choose to side with, Spectra**_?" N and Zekrom asked.

Spectra looked up at her boyfriend, tears in her eyes, and nodded.

"Yes, I'm siding with Nero and his friends," Spectra answered him.

"_**Then you are my enemy from this day forward**_," N and Zekrom growled, flying off in the air.

A white light covered me and I turned back to my regular form. I stood there, watching as the blur of blackness that was N disappeared from sight.

I then turned my attention back to Spectra and the others.

"Are you all okay?" I asked them.

I got three nods, but one no. Spectra. She was breaking down. I could tell she really cared about N and this sudden transformation and basically breaking up with her is breaking her.

"Spectra. Spectra!" I snapped to get her attention.

She looked up at me, tears staining her silver eyes.

"Ghetsis or Colress must have put some kind of mind control on him. He would never have joined Team Plasma willingly. We can still save him. We will save him," I said, grabbing her shoulders.

She then nodded and sobbed into my chest. Her heart was in pain, and I accepted that, but I was hoping she could use that pain to her advantage and help me save N and stop Team Plasma permanently.


End file.
